ISLAMABAD:
Twelve years after Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa became the first province in Pakistan to enact a Right to Information (RTI) law, the province’s groundbreaking transparency framework is struggling to live up to its promise due to weak enforcement, legal deficiencies and institutional limitations, according to a new policy brief issued by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
In its report, “From Pioneer to Performer: Making Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Right to Information Act Work Against Disinformation”, released on Sunday, FAFEN urged the KP Assembly and the provincial government to implement targeted legal and institutional reforms to transform the Act into an effective tool for proactive disclosure, public accountability and combating disinformation.
The organization noted that while the KP took the lead after Article 19A, guaranteeing citizens’ right to information, was incorporated into the Constitution through the 18th Amendment in 2010, implementation has lagged significantly behind the legislative intent.
An assessment of the websites of 190 government agencies in the province found that institutions disclosed, on average, only 57 percent of the information they are required by law to publish.
FAFEN warned that such transparency gaps create fertile ground for misinformation and false narratives surrounding government actions and public policy.
“Such information gaps create room for speculation, misrepresentation, and disinformation about government actions,” the release said, arguing that timely, accessible, and enforceable disclosure of official information remains the most effective antidote to disinformation.
The report identified three major legal deficiencies and two institutional weaknesses that continue to hamper the law’s effectiveness.
According to FAFEN, the existing definition of a “public body” excludes a number of private organizations and non-governmental entities that benefit from public funds, subsidies, tax breaks or public contracts.
It further noted that while the law requires proactive disclosure, it lacks clear enforcement mechanisms, compliance timelines and penalties for violations. The absence of standardized information formats across institutions also makes it difficult to compare, analyze and verify information.
The brief also highlighted concerns regarding the autonomy of the KP Information Commission, saying that limited financial and operational independence has undermined its ability to effectively enforce the law.
It noted that the commission currently lacks the authority to conduct periodic inspections of official records or issue binding directives on records management and disclosure timelines.
To address these shortcomings, FAFEN recommended expanding the definition of “public body” to include all private organizations and NGOs that receive public resources, either directly or indirectly.
It also called for expanding the legal definition of “information” to explicitly include digital and machine-readable records.
