• February 6, 2016
• Access to Information

KARACHI: The Punjab government has made little progress in making its websites comply with its transparency and right to information law, a report by digital rights groups says. It says that there have been only small improvements in this regard over July-December 2015 period. The fourth biannual State of Proactive Disclosure of Information in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa […]

• January 27, 2016
• Access to Information, Broadcasting, Media and Governance

KARACHI: On Monday, the KP Home Department issued a letter on the request of the KP Apex Committee, asking the federal government to ban all live coverage of terrorist incidents.The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) says it realises the nation is going through a very challenging time and the entire country has to come together including […]

• January 19, 2016
• Access to Information

ISLAMABAD: Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has criticised the government for formulating special committee to clear Right to Information (RTI) Law, terming it a move to cause further confusion and delay the enactment of the law. “Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives believes that there are already adequate and strong safeguards in Right […]

• January 16, 2016
• Access to Information

ISLAMABAD: If the government is to be believed this time, the federal Right to Information (RTI) law is soon becoming a reality, as the prime minister has formed a committee to clear the draft law without approval of the cabinet. Minister for Information Pervez Rashid told The News that a five-member committee of PML-N lawmakers […]

• January 10, 2016
• Access to Information

KARACHI: The Coalition on Transparency and Access to Information (C-TAI) undertook yet another attempt to convince the government to pass the Sindh Right to Information (RTI) Bill, 2015. Members of C-TAI, which is a coalition of 26 Sindh-based NGOs, gathered at an advocacy and consultative session to discuss the draft of the bill at Movenpick […]

• January 5, 2016
• Access to Information

ISLAMABAD: Despite urging the federal government to introduce the Right to Information (RTI) law, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is unable to enact the same legislation in its own ruled Sindh province, which is currently being deemed as the least transparent federating unit. The provincial government claims that it has already drafted the RTI law […]

• December 24, 2015
• Access to Information

ISLAMABAD – A prominent advocate of Right to Information (RTI) law yesterday complained that provinces of Punjab and Balochistan were not cooperating in sharing information of vital public importance. Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), an independent think tank focusing on democracy, governance and public policy said that the two provinces had been […]

• December 24, 2015
• Access to Information

Karachi Despites its inherent flaws, the provincial right to information law — if used — has the potential to empower citizens to a much higher degree and help improve on the current transparency and accountability levels in governance and all other related matters. The reason this law could bring about a possible change is that […]

• December 14, 2015
• Access to Information

ABBOTTABAD: The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has issued a show- cause notice to the University of Haripur administration over the failure to provide documents under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (RTI) Act 2013 This show-cause was issued for inability of the university’s administration to produce the relevant documents related to the selection boards and some administrative responsibilities […]

• December 4, 2015
• Access to Information

The much celebrated vibrancy in our media needs a bit of a pause and urgently too for a self-obligatory introspection to see how we are doing on the credibility and integrity aspects—the most essential media characteristics—and self-correct lapses that may have appeared as side-effects that go hand-in-hand when the much needed sense of responsibility gets […]

• December 4, 2015
• Access to Information

ISLAMABAD: The much touted Right to Information (RTI) law in Punjab is becoming a toothless piece of legislation as the top government officials are disregarding the orders of Punjab Information Commission by continuously blocking public access to information. Almost 50 days have passed since the commission unanimously ordered the Governor House officials to share information […]

• December 3, 2015
• Access to Information

LAHORE: Chief Information Officer Mazhar Hussain Minhas said on Wednesday that it seemed that the provincial government did not want the commission to do its work. He was speaking at a seminar held on the commission’s annual performance report. The commission was established in March 2014 – a year after the passage of the Punjab […]

• July 21, 2015
• Access to Information

PESHAWAR: Expediting efforts for computerising state records and moving towards e-governance, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to pack up its official website and replace it with a user-friendly, responsive and dynamic web portal. Directorate of Information and Technology officials confirmed the development to The Express Tribune. Project in charge Ghufran Javed said the portal’s security […]

• June 22, 2015
• Access to Information, Front Page

“Article 19-A has empowered the citizens of Pakistan by making access to information a justiceable right of the People rather than being largesse bestowed by the State at its whim.”………… All State functionaries have to understand that in a very real sense, they are employed in the service of the People of Pakistan and are […]