End 'prolonged paralysis' of Information Commission, TIB urges govt.

TB News: Bangladesh: Thursday, October 02, 2025.

The visible indifference to protecting citizens’ right to information is “deeply unfortunate” and marks one of the “major failures of the interim government,” says TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep disappointment over the failure to reconstitute the Information Commission more than a year after the fall of "authoritarian rule" and called for immediate action to make the body effective and independent.

The organisation urged the interim government to end the prolonged paralysis of the commission by appointing qualified individuals, free from conflicts of interest, through a transparent process, according to a TIB press release issued today (27 September). It also demanded necessary amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2009 and comprehensive reforms to transform the Information Commission into an effective and independent institution. Marking the International Day for Universal Access to Information. 

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "Although the interim government has taken several initiatives towards state reforms, no steps have been taken to make the Information Commission functional or to undertake the necessary reforms to the RTI Act." Despite civil society repeatedly making recommendations and issuing statements in the media, no action has followed and this visible indifference to protecting citizens' right to information is "deeply unfortunate" and marks one of the "major failures of the interim government," he added. "We strongly condemn this failure and urge the government to reconstitute the commission without delay," said the TIB executive director. Even when citizens file RTI applications, in the absence of an active commission, complaints are neither heard nor resolved, Iftekharuzzaman said.