Constitutional Right To Information; Scope,Procedure,Regulations and Restrictions in Pakistan.

The 1973 Constitution only specifically recognised freedom of speech and expression. The Supreme Court ruled in the 1993 Nawaz Sharif case that the right to receive information can be “spelt out from the freedom of expression” provision of the Constitution. In 2007, the Constitutional Court held that “access to information is sine qua non of constitutional democracy. The public has the right to know everything that is done by the public functionaries.” In 2010, there was a significant amendment to the Constitution to include an explicit right to information under Article 19-A, guaranteeing that “Every citizen shall have the right to have access to information in all matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law.” Right to Information Act In October 2002, President Musharraf promulgated the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 (FOI Ordinance), largely at the initiative of the Asian Development Bank. Although the Ordinance should have lapsed within four months, it became permanent following the 17th Amendment to the Constitution which gave protection to all orders/ordinances laws adopted by General Musharraf. In July 2012, the senate mandated a committee to elaborate a comprehensive access to information law and a very strong draft of a new RTI bill was developed. It drew inspiration from the very progressive Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces’ RTI laws and among other features establishes a strong information commission. If the bill is adopted as is, it would be one of the strongest RTI laws in the world.