DAWN.com: Islamabad: Tuesday, November 27, 2018.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on
Monday formally notified the Federal Information Commission with an aim to
expedite the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act across the
country.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad,
Chaudhry said that if departments failed to provide information sought from
them under the law, citizens can approach the commission, which will ensure
that the requested data is released within a month. If the information is not
released within 20 days, the citizens can take the matter to a civil court.
Chaudhry said that the Act will
particularly benefit journalists, as they will be able to confirm information
from government officials and also keeps tabs on ongoing developments on the
governance front.
The implementation of the Act will also
be useful for citizens who come forward with evidence of corruption, as they
will be able to check if the government is acting upon the information
provided, the minister said.
The information minister said RTI laws
were already being implemented in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI
was in power. Though he did not comment over implementation in Sindh and
Balochistan, Chaudhry claimed that "systems that are in place [in those
provinces] are being hindered".
He also took a jibe at the opposition,
repeating the government's stance on its refusal to appoint the opposition
leader as the Public Accounts Committee's chairman.
"We only say that they (the
opposition) let us audit the projects initiated by Nawaz Sharif, and then the
PPP or PML-N can audit projects initiated by us. In their attempt to hinder
this system, they insist that the younger brother [Shahbaz Sharif] should audit
the projects initiated by his older brother," he said, terming the demand
"unethical".
100 days
Chaudhry also touched upon the
government's performance in its first 100 days. The information minister
claimed that "there is no precedent" of the number of initiatives
taken up by PTI in the past 100 days.
"There are six themes and 34
initiatives that we have taken and we have done a lot of work on them as well.
You will see on the 29th," he said.
"The Right to Information Act in
itself is a huge contribution," he added. Chaudhry also pointed out that a
project to build a university for media sciences was underway.
"It is not a joke to plan a
university, but we did it in 100 days," he claimed.
Chaudhry also revealed that the
information ministry had decided to merge Radio Pakistan and PTV under a single
body. Associated Press of Pakistan will be converted into a "digital
service" so it can compete with international news agencies like Reuters,
the information minister revealed.
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