PESHAWAR: Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI) has demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to fill two vacant seats of information commissioners in the KP Information Commission (KPIC) immediately.

A statement issued here said that due to delays in appointment of the information commissioners the citizens’ constitutional right to access information held by public bodies had been violated. It said that CRTI, a representative body of 45 civil society organisations, had shown serious concerns over delaying tactics by the KP government.

Ahmad Mukhtar Ali, executive director of Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, stated KP was the first province to enact effective right to information law. However, the implementation of the law has not been taken seriously.

The position of information commissioner (legal) has been vacant for the last three years while the other information commissioner completed tenure in July 2022.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2022