ISLAMABAD: A civil society organisation has accused the Sindh government of being reluctant to share with stakeholders the draft of the right to information bill likely to be tabled in the provincial assembly this month.

It expressed the fear that even after passage of the bill, there would be restrictions on people’s access to information.

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Sharmila Farooqi, however, says the draft is still under consideration and will be shared with stakeholders only after it is finalised.

She said input of civil society had been received and the proposed law would ensure easy access to information. In case of any complaint, the bill may be amended.

Programme Manager (transparency and right to information) of the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), Zahid Abdullah, said the Sindh government had prepared the draft bill but it was not sharing it with stakeholders.

In a statement, the CPDI urged the Sindh government to make the draft bill public and present it to the cabinet for approval after seeking input from the media, civil society organisations and citizens.

Ms Farooqi said that proposals sent by some NGOs had been considered during the process of preparation of the draft.

She advised the NGOs to contact Sindh Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikandar Mandhro to seek a copy of the draft.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2015

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