PESHAWAR, Aug 15: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will unveil the right to information ordinance on Aug 18 (Sunday) during a special function to be attended by provincial Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan.The ordinance will come into force with immediate effect, say the relevant officials.
The officials told Dawn on Thursday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah had already signed the summary to promulgate the ordinance.They said the government would publish the ordinance in the official gazette once it was unveiled.
The last two governments, one led by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the other by Awami National Party, had repeatedly promised to enforce the law on several occasions, but failed to keep the promise.
The Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 was promulgated at the federal level during the General Musharraf government in Oct 2002. According to a press release issued by PTI here, the ordinance’s promulgation will ensure access to information to the people in the province.
Sindh is the first province, where Freedom of Information Act was enforced in 2006.
The PTI claims that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first among Pakistan’s provinces to make its government more accountable to its citizens through the passing of the law.
Stakeholders from various segments of society, including ministers, PTI members, parliamentarians, academia, media and civil society, will attend the ceremony of the ordinance’s unveiling.
Through the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act 2010, the ‘right to information’ has been declared a fundamental right.
A new article, 19A, was incorporated in the Constitution and that states: “Every citizen shall have the right to have access to information in all matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restriction imposed by the law.”
