ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Thursday the incumbent government took practical steps towards implementation of Right to Information Act.
Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, she said the previous government had passed the Right to Information Law but did not take any steps to formulate relevant rules and regulations and appoint Information Commissioners to ensure its implementation.
She said Prime Minister Imran Khan turned his vision of ensuring public access to information into reality in the first hundred days in office by notifying the establishment of Federal Information Commission.
Awan noted the establishment of the commission will serve as a platform to protect the rights of the people and discourage propaganda and disinformation. She added this commission will ensure timely and effective dissemination of information to the people which will also play an important role to counter misperceptions.
The special assistant said the government has allocated Rs70 million in the budget for the Information Commission.
She recalled that it was the previous government of PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that had first passed the Right to Information Act.
Ms Awan said it is also time for the international organisations to raise voice for the fundamental rights of oppressed Kashmiri people including their right of access to information. She regretted Indian authorities are crushing the very rights of Kashmiri people.
Leave a Comment