LAHORE (Staff Report) – Despite well-publicized promises, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has yet to undo the widely criticized amendments to the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013, according to PILDAT.
A clearer picture of the law has finally emerged. Even though the amended Bill has yet to be published online on the provincial Assembly’s website, changes to the amendments have not been made.
Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan, the ruling party in KP, claimed to bring progressive information law in the province. However, the party ended up making regressive amendments to the KP RTI Law 2013.
The amendments, which were passed by the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa on June 23, 2015, include some noteworthy clauses:
1. A new sub-section (3) has been inserted into Section 28, under which all offenses prescribed in Section 28 (1) of the KP RTI Act 2013 are now bailable, non-cognizable and triable by the District and Sessions Court.
2. The clause under Section 2 (i)(iii) which places the Provincial Assembly of KP under the ambit of the RTI Act 2013 has been deleted.
Despite assurances given by Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, in a meeting with PILDAT on July 30 and seven sittings held in 15th session of the Provincial Assembly between August 3 and August 17; no order has been passed to undo the changes made to KP RTI Law.
