Welcome disclosure of staff emoluments by LHC needs wider emulation
In our closed and secretive, at times almost opaque system, it was an unbelievable but pleasant surprise to discover that Lahore High Court had actually released complete details of the salary, allowances and perks enjoyed by its staff, including the Chief Justice himself. This declaration was made by request of Punjab Information Commission (PIC), on a petition filed by a private citizen seeking these particulars under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013. Even petulant Imran Khan, who is otherwise extremely miserly in his praise, lauded the CJ effusively The judiciary has itself been in the dock in the past for myriad reasons, but in this instance it has set a shining example and sent the transparency ball rolling into the court of the other state institutions, especially those which display an inexplicable reluctance in going public with such elementary details regarding public and taxpayers money. For example, a plea filed in October 2016 seeking the facts about the Punjab CM’s foreign visits from 2009 to 2016 and the expenditure incurred in each case, is still hanging fire, with another four week extension sought from the PIC by the CM Secretariat on March 25, 2017.
It goes without saying that a vibrant media and ready transparency are vital for the smooth and effective functioning of any democratic system. Parliamentarians, the usual suspects and media-whipping boys, are often made scapegoats and villains by our working overtime rumour and gossip mills. But they have started releasing their tax returns and other personal and public information, even it be under Election Commission of Pakistan rules or court orders. True, some of their replies and statistics need to be taken with a lot of incredulity, still they are submitting themselves to the will and desire of the people. It is now the turn of the high ranking civilian and military bureaucracy which must also take this short disclosure step to gain citizen’s respect. Keeping things under wraps and stonewalling queries can only give birth to suspicions and rumours.