“It is a message for the coalition…your men will end up in videos that are even more horrific and will do lasting damage to public opinion in your countries”. This is how Romain Cailet, a militant movements’ expert, has explained the motive behind Islamic State’s release of an over 22-minute long video showing the burning […]
Islamabad: The “Schedule of Fees for Hard Copies,” notified by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission on December 19, 2014 has shifted the burden of postal costs from public bodies to citizens if the requested information is more than 20 pages. If the requested information is more than 20 pages, a citizen will have to pay Rs […]
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday, through a circular, made an attempt to have tighter control over the practice of free sharing of information with the media. Interestingly, the circular contained a glaring spelling mistake: instead of writing ‘false media reports’, ‘falls media reports’ was typed in it. The circular says, “It has […]
Pakistan’s Senate has finalized the Right to Information Bill. This Bill has been developed to make two of the cardinal principles of democracy, transparency and accountability, the cornerstone of Pakistan’s politics. If these two principles are established, Pakistan will not only be able to deal with the menace of corruption that has eaten into its […]
By: Malik Asad ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday restrained the inter-ministerial committee for the evaluation of websites (IMCEW) from blocking websites, including that of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for the rights of internet users. Justice Athar Minallah issued the order on a petition filed by ‘Bolo Bhi’. The committee was restrained […]
ISLAMABAD: Following the footsteps of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, though Punjab government has introduced a Right to Information (RTI) law but DCOs and patwaris continue to deny public access to official record. Exactly one year has gone by since the passing of Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 but the deep-rooted […]
PESHAWAR: The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability, a civil society organisation, on Thursday urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to extend the right to information law to the provincially administered tribal areas for the benefit of the people. CGPA executive director Mohammad Anwar told reporters at the Peshawar Press Club that the government should immediately […]
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid on Monday assured a Senate standing committee that the ‘Right to Information Bill 2014’ would be presented before the cabinet in its next meeting for approval. During the meeting of the Senate standing committee on information and broadcasting presided over by Senator Kamil Ali Agha, the members […]
KARACHI: I would like to seek an important clarification from the information commissioners, the Ministry of Law and experts on the citizens’ right to information. Can a citizen seek information from the presidency relating to expenses incurred in the presidency, his official visits, and the various secretaries and staff deputed for the ceremonies and upkeep […]
PESHAWAR: The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) urged citizens of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to use the Right to Information law to improve transparency and accountability in public service delivery. Filing requests for information under these laws is not only a legal and constitutional privilege, but should also be taken as an obligation, stated […]
It has been two years since Pakistan banned YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform. Last government imposed the ban; this government continues to enforce that. No exit is in sight. A few civil society organisations have been commendably campaigning for YouTube restoration on legal grounds, but their efforts have so far been stonewalled by the Federal […]
KARACHI: Two years, a new government and the promise of change, and at least 20 court hearings later, internet users from Pakistan are still denied access to YouTube. This restriction of access has become the symbol of a state which has increasingly become obsessed with controlling the online space in a non-transparent manner. The ban […]
In the past week, the recent scandal of leaked nude photographs of famous celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence has quite literally hogged the information space. Many of us have reacted by dismissively changing the channel or scoffing about how gossip-infused the world has become. However, we fail to recognise that the leakage of these photographs via […]
LAHORE: A segment of the Punjab bureaucracy, at the first stage of implementation of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act (2013), thwarted the efforts of the government to provide information to citizenry to have transparency in the system. The departments interpreted the act on their own and denied information, a petitioner said. Tariq […]
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