Pakistan Observer: Pakistan: Wednesday,
February 15, 2017.
Senate’s
select committee at its meeting chaired by Senator Farhatullah Babar Tuesday
unanimously passed a bill seeking to codify citizens’ right to information. The
bill if passed by the parliament will replace the Freedom of Information
Ordinance 2002. The bill recognizes citizens’ right to know under the
Constitution and to have access to information about the activities of the
government.
The
opposition in the Senate has brought the bill after getting frustrated by the
inordinate delay by the government in bringing its RTI act before the
parliament. It is worth mentioning that the federal cabinet has also approved
its own right to information bill and the bill is likely to be tabled before
the national assembly soon.
The fate of
the bill passed by the Senate committee is expected to meet the same fate like
that on the Panama papers.
According to
experts, the bill will sail through easily from the upper house where the
opposition has the strength but it will be rejected by the National Assembly.
However, it
is expected that the government will now table its own bill in the National
Assembly soon to avoid criticism from the opposition.
The RTI
passed by the Senate committee seeks to ensure that information on missing
persons is provided in writing by the relevant institution within three days of
a request for information being filed.
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