Right to Information Law not at odds with national security: CRTI
Islamabad – The Right to Information Law is not at odds with the national security of the country and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is perhaps misunderstanding this law, a coalition of 48 civil society organisations yesterday said.
The Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI), a consortium of 48 civil society organisations working to protect and promote citizens’ right to information in the country, said this in a statement.
The statement came in the wake of the remarks of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in a press conference that no one will be allowed to hide behind the Right to Information Act.
The minister said this with regard to the recent leaks of an important national security meeting to the media.
“It seems there is relative lack of understanding about the purpose of the Right to Information legislation in government circles as demonstrated by Interior Minister on Sunday when he said that no one will be allowed to hide behind Right to Information Act,” the Coalition on Right to Information, (CRTI) said.
The statement said that effective right to information laws not only facilitates easy and cost-effective access to information held by public bodies but also protects privileged and sensitive information from disclosure.
That is why independent and autonomous information commissions are established under right to information laws to ensure that information likely to cause damage to national security, privacy of individuals, economic interests and other such matters is protected from disclosure.
Moreover, information commissions ensure that information is disclosed only in public interest.
The CRIT said that it was unfortunate that federal government had not empowered proposed Pakistan Information Commission, to be established under Right of Access to Information Bill 2016, to ensure that sensitive information is protected and information pertaining to matters of public importance is shared with citizens and journalists in public interest.
The CRTI urges federal government to empower proposed Pakistan Information Commission with regard to ensuring disclosure of information in matters of public interest and protecting sensitive information.
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