Islamabad: The Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002, which had been enacted to ensure transparency and good governance in government departments, has still not been implemented in letter and spirit despite passage of more than one year. This was stated in a joint press statement issued by the Consumer Right Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) and Centre for Civic Education Pakistan (CCE) on the eve of International Human Right Day.

Both the organizations maintained that with out promulgating the rules of business, the government’s commitment toward FOI was nothing than lip of services. They urged that government to enact the required rules of business to implement the ordinance.

Together, the CRCP and the CCE have engaged in promotion of freedom of information with the objective of improving citizen’s ability to monitor govt activities, policies, project and plans by using the freedom of information law to access the required details.
They have also asked the civil society organizations and democratic forces to put moral pressure on the government to fulfill its pledges regarding access to information by enacting the rule of business immediately This will help develop citizen friendly strategies of record keeping, information storage and staff training so that the access to information right can be exercised to promote good governance.