KARACHI: In a recent order, the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) has upheld the appeal of a citizens’ rights group and has directed the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to provide the requested details about the total number of private security tents, their occupants as well as numbers of those houses responsible for the offence, in its jurisdiction to the appellant.

The DHA is also asked to provide a “plan of action” for removal of all encroachments and for ensuring that armed personnel are not housed outside residences.

The appeal was filed by Citizens for Right to Information (CRTI).

“The appeal is allowed. The Administrator, Defence Housing Authority, is directed to provide the Appellant requested information about total number of tents in each DHA street along with the number of occupying security guards and the house number responsible for this offense, DHA’s “plan of action” to remove all tents outside homes and steps taken to ensure no persons with weapons are seen outside DHA houses,” the order dated Dec 14, 2020, states.

It also asked DHA to implement all requirements of The Right of Access to Information Act, 2017, such as the appointment of public information officers and proactive placement of information on its website.

“The respondent is directed to take immediate steps to proactively share through the website all categories of information mentioned in Section 5 of The Right of Access to Information Act 2017 and submit the compliance report to the commission in the Template for the Compliance-Report Proactive Disclosure of Information under Section 5 of the Right to Access to Information Act 2017.

“This template is available under Information Desk category at the website of the commission www.rti.gov.pk. The compliance report be submitted to this commission by 07/01/2021.

“The Respondent is directed to ensure accessibility of the information proactively published on its website under Section 5 of The Right of Access to Information Act 2017 for all citizens, including the blind, low-vision, physically disabled, speech and hearing impaired and people with other disabilities and submit compliance to this effect using ‘web accessibility checklist’.

“This checklist is available under Information Desk category at the website of the commission www.rti.gov.pk. The compliance report be submitted to this commission by 07/01/2021.”

Describing the commission’s decision as pioneering in accountability and transparency of public organisations, the citizens’ rights group in a statement has hoped that “the DHA will comply with all requirements of the order so as to create peaceful and lawful environment in a residential area which has more and more begun to [look] like a prisoners’ camp”.

It might be recalled that the Supreme Court in its 2016 orders had given 15 days to DHA to get all security camps/tents removed from outside the residences without any discrimination.

Initially, the CRTI had approached the DHA for specific information on this matter. Seeing no response from the authority, the group later filed an appeal with the commission.

“These tents, illegally encroaching on public property, are invariably manned by dozens of armed private militias. They violate both the ‘Encroachment of Public Property Law’ and Article 256 of the Constitution that explicitly forbids formation of private militias,” said a CRTI statement.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2020