Presentation Title

Right to information
 Presented By
Rimsha Rehman
Afaq Malik
Abdul Haleem
“Know Your Right To Know”
 Introduction
Right to information accessible under the RTI Act which is held by or under the
control of any public authority and includes the right to:

 Inspection of work, documents, records

 Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents of records;
 Taking certified samples of material;
 Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or
in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is
stored in a computer or in any other device.
 Promises of RTI
Information by people, for people, through people
Empowerment of citizens
Universal in appeal and application
“Anyone who hides it [testimony/evidence] has a sinful heart. God is
aware of what you do.(2: 283)”
 Why RTI matters?
Anti-corruption tool
Democratize information
Savior of journalists
Weapon of accountability
Protector of human dignity
 Make citizen part of the decision making
 Make administrative responsive
 Strengthen the foundation of democracy
 Historical Background
Date COUNTRY
 In south Asia India was the first one to introduce 1966 SWEDEN
 freedom of information law at provincial level in 1997 (goa). 1951 FINLAND
1966 UNITED STATE OF
AMERICA
 Pakistan was the first to introduce freedom 1970 NORWAY
1970 DENMARK
 of information law at federal level in 1997. 1978 NETHERLAD
1978 FRANCE
1982 AUSTRALIA
 Today over 100 countries have this law.
1982 AUSTRALIA
 Right To Information In Pakistan
• Article 19A of the constitution of Pakistan, 1973

The right to access information added to the Constitution by the 18th

Amendment, which declared that under Article 19-A “Every citizen shall
have the right to have access to information in all matters of public
importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by
law.” Both federal and provincial
 Processing time
10 working days prescribed in KP Law
60 working days are at last
14 working days under Punjab law
Commission Establish to hear the complaints
KP law has been defined as second best in the world
Right To Information In Province of Pakistan

Federal: 2017
Khyber PakhtunKhwa: 2013
Panjab: 2013
Sind: 2016
Balochistan: Not Effective
 Assisting Applicants

Punjab and KP laws require PIOs to assist

applicants particularly if they are disabled or illiterate

Federal, Sindh and Balochistan laws ask for facilitation without specifying
nature of assistance and individuals
 What Can I Complain about?
• The central information commission is an autonomous body setup to inquire into
complaints received from citizens.
• You can complain that you have been refused access to information. You can also
complain about how the public authority has handled your request for instance.
• Failure to respond to your request within 30 working days (or failure to explain
why and extension to the 45 days is needed).
• Failure to give you proper advice and help within the stipulated time.
• Failure to give information in the form in which I requested for it.
THANK YOU