LAHORE – The chairman of Civil Society Network Abdullah Malik has forwarded a letter to Governor Punjab Rafique Ahmed Rajwana, Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and other relevant officials requesting the cancellation of appointment of Naseer Ahmad Bhutta as Punjab Information Commission’s (PIC) chief commissioner.
The letter submitted through the counsel, Azhar Siddique seeks de-notification of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Lawyers Forum Pakistan President Naseer Ahmad Bhutta as chief commissioner of PIC.
In the letter, Abdullah said that there were many applications of the right to information pending with the PIC chief commissioner, and being a political boss of the commission, Bhutta can block access to information in important scandals, Pakistan Today reported.
It was also contended that Bhutta can hinder making Model Town incident enquiry report public, as ordered by the Lahore High Court, last month.
The Punjab government installed Naseer Ahmad Bhutta in Punjab Information Commission on Wednesday just two days after he tendered resignation from the post of additional attorney general.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had appointed Naseer Ahmad Bhutta as additional attorney general in October 2013.
Bhutta was also very vocal in leading the lawyers’ movement against former President Pervez Musharraf and had also been a member of National Assembly in 2008 from PML-N.
Punjab Information Commission
The PIC is an independent body set up under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013.
Any citizen of Pakistan or an organisation registered in Pakistan can apply for information under the act about information from any department, attached department, organisation, institution, court, tribunal, commission, office, board or a body established or funded by the government of the Punjab.
The citizens can also have access to information from those private institutions or organisations which are substantially financed by the provincial or a local government.
They are required to write an application for access to information on a plain paper or on an optional form developed and disseminated by the commission.
