Islamabad: Press freedom is very essential for free flow of information. This was said by Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) in a statement issued here on the occasion of Press Freedom Day. CRCP said it was very unfortunate that most of the laws dealing with access to information lacked in participatory approaches and consultative process. As a result, these laws lacked ownership by the stakeholders and had little potential to contribute towards promotion of transparency and good governance.

While reflecting on the issue, CRCP secretary general, Mian Abrar Hafeez said that certain features of the FOI ordinance tended to barricade timely flow of information to media and citizens. For example, Section 13 of Freedom of Information ordinance 2002 provides twenty-one days for disposal of application for information. Such a lengthy period defeats the purposes of timely access to information. Similarly, Section 8 of the Ordinance exempts various information from disclosure, which limits the right to access to information, he said.

Commenting on the press laws, Mr. Hafeez said that there existed wide perception among media practitioners that the existing press laws tended to curtail press freedom. It is generally believed that the media laws particularly Press, Newspaper, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002, Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance, 2002 and Defamation Ordinance, 2002 seemed to negate the essence of freedom of press, he said. He said that the government should give due heed to viewpoints of all concerned and make the laws optimally beneficial for all stakeholders.