ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: The President on Saturday promulgated ‘Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002’, binding the future political government to guarantee access to the information on all official records except for the details pertaining to national security.

“No requester shall be denied access to any official record other than exemptions as provided in Section 15”, reads one of the clause of the ordinance.

Under the provision of this ordinance, all the public bodies would have to ensure that all records covered under clause (i) of Section 2 of this ordinance are properly maintained.

The law also made it obligatory for all the public bodies to publish and made available at a reasonable price, all acts and subordinate legislations such as rules and regulations, notifications, by-laws, manuals, orders having the force of law in Pakistan.

It further said that each public body should endeavour, within reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, that all records covered by the provisions of this ordinance were computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that authorised access to such records was facilitated.

All public bodies will also have to declare to be the public record, namely:

(a) Policies and guidelines;

(b) transactions involving acquisition and disposal of properly and expenditure undertaken by a public body in the performance of its duties;

(c) information regarding grant of licenses, allotments and other benefits, privileges, and contract and agreements made by a public body;

(d) final orders and decisions, including decisions relating to members of public; and

(e) any other record which may be notified by the Federal Government as public record for the purposes of this ordinance.

However, nothing contained in Section 7 shall apply to the following record of all public bodies, namely:

(a) Noting on files;

(b) minutes of meetings;

(c) any intermediary opinion or recommendation;

(d) record of the banking companies and financial institutions relating to the accounts of their customers;

(e) record relating to defence forces, defence installations or connected therewith or ancillary to defence and national security;

(f) record declared as classified by the Federal Government;

(g) record relating to the personal privacy of any individual.