THE active history of right to information laws in Pakistan starts from 2002, when we became the first country in South Asia to pass an ordinance in this context — even though the legislation was rightly criticised for being weak and leaving too much wiggle room. In the decade and a half that has passed since then, progress has been slow but does provide grounds for hope. The right to information was recognised as a fundamental right in 2010, through the insertion of Article 19-A in the Constitution as part of the 18th Amendment. Then came the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act, 2013, followed by the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013. A federal law in this regard was finalised by a Senate committee on information in 2014, but on that count matters remain stalled despite the assurances given out from time to time by those in the echelons power. Earlier this week, on Monday, Sindh’s provincial assembly passed the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Bill, 2016, thus drawing tighter the network of legislation covering this aspect of citizens’ constitutional rights. This can be interpreted as a sign that there is growing recognition of the fact that this is a fundamental building block from which all other freedoms flow, since it is the ability to curb access that allows dark doings to be indulged in.

However, it will take more than just laws to build transparency into the very roots of systems in Pakistan. There is in the country, at all levels of federal and provincial governments, a culture of opacity that is the fundamental problem to be addressed. Going by the experience of both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, it is evident that while the citizenry has been allowed the right to put in a request for the disclosure of information, such an application nevertheless tends to be stonewalled by an implacable and hidebound bureaucracy. Unless it is ensured that there is no room for the state and bureaucracy to prevaricate or obfuscate matters, little will change despite a legal framework being in place.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2017