ISLAMABAD: Right to Information (RTI) Act will be a significant step forward towards transparent and accountable governance. However, to reap the real dividends of the law for the people of Pakistan, change in the mindset at every level would play a crucial role so that the culture of openness could replace the culture of secretiveness and a general trend of shying away from taking responsibility and being accountable.
While speaking at a seminar held at Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar said, “Right to Information is a step forward for better governance”.
Senator Farhatullah Babar further said that people must remain vigilant about the fact that some elements of the society would continue to resist this progressive development and would make every effort to revoke it. He said that the new law does not offer blanket exemptions in the name of national security and every effort was made to strike balance in present RTI bill between national security and public interest. Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) Executive Director Zafarullah Khan highlighted earlier the painstaking process that led to this law over the years and said that it was first such law that was let by parliament and has been finalized with the consensus of all major political parties. He said there were a number of areas that could be improved or amended later but the passage of the law from the parliament should be taken as huge step forward.
He said that for the successful implementation of the law, all the officers from government ministries and line departments should be made aware of the processes and procedures involved and their respective duties in this regard. Besides, he said, it would be imperative to translate the law in Urdu and regional languages.
Ziauddin, a senior journalist and analyst, speaking on the occasion, termed awareness a key factor for the successful implementation of RTI law. He said that unfortunately, we do not have a culture of asking questions to reach a point of clarity on any issue. Therefore, media and civil society would have an important role to play in making this law successful whereas media houses should come forward and arrange specific training programs for their reporters so that they could use this law to obtain information and to serve the public interest effectively.
Published in Daily Times, October 10th 2017.
