Need Stressed For Providing Awareness On Right Of Access To Information Act

Chief Information Commissioner, Pakistan Information Commission (PMC) Muhammad Azam Khan on Monday stressed the need for providing awareness among general public about Right of Access to Information Act

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2021 ) :Chief Information Commissioner, Pakistan Information Commission (PMC) Muhammad Azam Khan on Monday stressed the need for providing awareness among general public about Right of Access to Information Act.

He said it was a fundamental right to every citizen which could be used for getting any information in all matters of public importance subject to regulations and reasonable restrictions.

Speaking with media persons here at Hyderabad Press Club, Muhammad Azam Khan said after passage of 18th amendment in the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Article 19-A was added in it and subsequently Right of Access to Information Act-2017 was also passed by the parliament.

He said under this Act, the Pakistan Information Commission had been constituted which in collaboration with centre for governance and public accountability was providing guidelines to the citizens as to how they could exercise their right of access to information.

He said the Pakistan Information Commission had decided to hold meetings with media persons at different press clubs to discuss the importance of this fundamental right so that they could play a role in providing awareness about access to information law among the general public.

He said the commission had so far received around 1700 applications under Right of Access to Information Act, of which 60 percent complaints had been resolved while remaining were under process.

He said along with the Federal government, all provincial governments had also passed laws with regard to Right for Access to Information and provincial information commissions had been established to provide information to the citizens regarding public affairs.

Every citizen of the country has a right to know about the utilization of public funds and they could seek such information from federal public bodies under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017.

Azam Khan advised them to file simple application on plain paper with information request to public information officer of the federal public body or the head if the public body if information officer had not been designated.

After filing the request, the concerned officer is bound to provide required information to the applicant within 10 working days, he said and added that if the federal body finds it difficult to collect the information,it may take an extra 10 working days.

He added that if requested information had not been provided to the citizens within time mentioned above or one is not satisfied with the response of the officer concerned, an appeal had to be filed to the Pakistan Information Commission through website www.appeals.rti.gov.pk or by registered post and through email on [email protected].

Azam Khan said the Pakistan Information Commission would decide on appeals within 60 days.

Few journalists were also using this constitutional right to get accurate information from government departments for filing their news stories, he said.

He advised the media men to provide awareness among the journalistic community and the general public so that they could use this law for getting accurate information from government departments.

The Information Commissioner Pakistan Information Commission Fawad Malik also spoke on the occasion and briefed the media persons about the historical background of this law.

He said first if all this law was promulgated in 2002 thorough ordinance but after passage of 18th amendment Article 19- A was inserted in the constitution of Pakistan.

Fawad Malik said the law had come into effect after passage of the Right to Access to Information Act 2017.

He said despite the hurdles, the Pakistan Information Commission was doing its job efficiently but due to lack of awareness, people were not using this fundamental right.

He called upon media persons to provide awareness among the general public so that they could use their fundamental rights like developed nations.

He informed that Imtiaz Bota, a citizen of Hyderabad had filed as many as 200 applications under right to access to information and he had received almost all required information from the departments concerned.

President Hyderabad Press Club Abdullah Shaikh and secretary Iqbal Malah and other members of the club were present on the occasion.