Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Transparency International Pakistan has pointed out the weak implementation of access to information laws by federal and provincial government departments, saying that the rate of information provision ranges from only 28 percent in Balochistan to 59 percent in Punjab. Released ahead of World Access to Information Day on September 28, the review report examines the websites of 98 key ministries and government departments to determine their implementation of information provision requirements under the Federal Right to Access Information Act, 2017 and relevant provincial laws. According to the report, the highest overall implementation was recorded in Punjab, where the rate was 59 percent in 18 departments, followed by 47 percent in 14 ministries of the federal government. This rate was 41 percent in 22 departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 31 percent in 25 departments of Sindh, while the lowest rate was 28 percent in 19 departments of Balochistan. The review identified the provision of budget and expenditure information as one of the weakest areas, raising concerns about the availability of basic financial information on government websites. Availability of information about Public Information Officers (PIOs) was also found to be poor in many cases. This information is particularly important because PIOs provide the institutional channel through which citizens can access information when information is not provided. According to the review, the rate of publishing contact details of PIOs was only 12 percent in Balochistan, 14 percent in Sindh, 36 percent at the federal level and 45 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In this category, the performance of Punjab was comparatively better, where this rate was recorded at 72%. The report recommends that information commissions introduce uniform formats for self-reporting of information, while government departments need to improve training of public information officers and make publication of budget and expenditure details more effective. The report also calls for making publication of contact details of PIOs mandatory, providing information on decision-making processes and opportunities for public consultation, while introducing minimum standards for websites, including a separate section for Right to Information (RTI) on every government department’s website.