The National Assembly secretariat has declared the attendance record of the MNAs as classified information and has refused to provide this information despite being asked under the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002.
When the federal ombudsman intervened and directed National Assembly secretariat to provide this information, the secretariat instead has sent an appeal to the president against the decision of the federal ombudsman. This is in contrast to the prevailing practice at Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies where such information is in public domain.
On the complaint lodged by Executive Director Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) Amer Ejaz against National Assembly Secretariat for declaring the attendance record of the parliamentarians as ‘classified’ information, Federal Ombudsman instructed the NA Secretariat to “provide the complainant with the record of the attendance as requested in keeping with the democratic values and democratic practices”.
However, instead of providing the requested attendance record, NA secretariat has challenged the decision of Federal Ombudsman and has filed a representation to the President of Pakistan.
One of the reasons put forward for not providing the access to the attendance record is that ‘it pertains to the immunities and privileges of the Members of the National Assembly.” The CPDI has maintained that the attendance record of the parliamentarians can be helpful for citizens in judging the performance of their elected representatives and in making informed choices in the elections.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab Assemblies have already shared the attendance record once CPDI filed information requests under their respective laws but National Assembly Secretariat has chosen not to share this information.
CPDI has also termed the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 as week law whereby most of the requested information is blocked by government departments on different pretexts. CPDI has been advocating that the law be repealed and replaced with stronger and effective laws.
The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting approved a bill on the right to information in July last year which has the support of civil society groups but federal government is dragging its feet on this issue and has failed to table it in the National assembly.
CPDI urges federal government to table this bill in National Assembly immediately. CPDI is an independent, non-partisan and a not-for-profit registered civil society organization working on the issues of Development and Peace in Pakistan.
