–Info minister says commission will ensure that requested data is released by departments concerned within a month
–Reiterates govt’s refusal to appoint Shehbaz Sharif as PAC chairman, says Opp’s demand is ‘unethical’
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Monday announced the formation of Federal Information Commission which would expedite the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act across the country, as he took a jibe at the opposition parties for insisting on the appointment of Shehbaz Sharif as chairman of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee.
Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Fawad said that citizens could approach the commission if the departments concerned do not provide them the information sought under the law.
“The commission will ensure that the requested data is released within a month. If the information is not released within 20 days, the citizens can take the matter to a civil court,” he said. He added that the law will particularly benefit journalists, as they will be able to confirm information from government officials and also keeps a track of the ongoing developments.
“The implementation of the Act will also be useful for citizens who come forward with evidence of corruption, as they will be able to check if the government is acting upon the information provided,” the minister said.
Fawad said that RTI laws were already being implemented in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however, “systems that are in place in Sindh and Balochistan are being hindered”.
PAC CHAIRMANSHIP:
He also took a jibe at the opposition, repeating the government’s stance on its refusal to appoint National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif as the Public Accounts Committee chairman.
“We only say that they (the opposition) let us audit the projects initiated by Nawaz Sharif, and then the PPP or PML-N can audit projects initiated by us. In their attempt to hinder this system, they insist that the younger brother [Shehbaz Sharif] should audit the projects initiated by his older brother,” he said, terming the demand “unethical”.
The minister accused the opposition of not letting the government perform its duties, adding that they were putting hurdles in the government’s way through the parliamentary platform.
The ruling PTI had earlier proposed to once again engage the opposition parties in an effort to break the deadlock over the issue of nomination of the chairman of the all-powerful PAC before making a “unilateral announcement” of the names of the members of all committees of the National Assembly.
Earlier, the info minister said that the party had asked National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to hold talks with the leaders of parliamentary parties to get the issue resolved as early as possible since delay in the formation of the committees had started affecting the functioning of parliament.
100 DAYS:
Fawad also touched upon the PTI government’s performance in its first 100 days.
He claimed that “there is no precedent” of the number of initiatives taken up by PTI in the past 100 days, adding that “there are six themes and 34 initiatives that we have taken and we have done a lot of work on them as well. You will see on the 29th.”
“The Right to Information Act in itself is a huge contribution,” he added. Chaudhry also pointed out that a project to build a university for media sciences was underway.
“It is not a joke to plan a university, but we did it in 100 days,” he claimed.
In a tweet earlier in the day, Fawad said: “Alhamdolillah Pak University of media sciences project is ready in first 100 days of PTI Govt, this will be our biggest contribution to Pak media industry.”
Alhamdolillah Pak University of media sciences project is ready in first 100 days of PTI Govt ,this ll be our biggest contribution to Pak media industry pic.twitter.com/NVPelTkqkP
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 26, 2018
Addressing the presser, the minister also revealed that the government had decided to merge Radio Pakistan and PTV under a single body.
“Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) will be converted into a digital service so it can compete with international news agencies like Reuters,” he said.
