Federal and provincial legislation regarding ‘Right to Information’ for good governance in Pakistan

Since democracy is the only political system that considers the views of the general populace, most states have switched over to democratic political systems over time. The right to vote allows citizens to directly or indirectly elect the representatives of their choice in democracies; Good governance is a term that is only applied to this one system, a transparent, participatory, and accountable government. The phrase "good governance" refers to a system of government that upholds the rights of its citizens, gives them equal access to opportunities, considers the views of the general public, and makes its policies clear to the general populace and refrains from engaging in dishonest practices. It is referred to as a government that values participation, accountability, and transparency and ensures that all citizens are treated equally under the law. As time goes on, laws are made to increase government accountability and transparency; for this reason, the right to information is included in the constitutions of the vast majority of states. Through the exercise of this right, the public will have access to information about public matters, enabling them to monitor the government. As a result, corruption will be reduced and a more accountable system of government will be established; in addition, it will make corruption and the abuse of power more difficult. The constitution of 1973 was amended in April of 2010 to include 19-A Article regarding the RTI in order to design a more explicit, participatory, and accountable structure. Pakistan is a democratic country with a separate chapter on fundamental rights and this research paper aims to examine how Paki-stan’s RTI can put up good governance. This study looks at the regulatory structures of Pakistan’s right-to-information laws and asks if the intended goals of openness and good governance have been met?


Introduction
The term "governance" has existed since the dawn of human civilization; simply put, "governance" refers to the process of making decisions and whether those decisions are carried out [1].Government is not only found at the state level; it also exists in corporations, community-level local governments, and international institutions.'Good governance' is a multifaceted concept that plays a major role in the conversation about development.However, in the past few decades, "good governance" has been highlighted by development professionals as a requirement for progress [2].The public sector procedure that optimizes the public interests is referred to as good governance.A few of its primary features consist of the fact that it represents a new interaction between the political system and civil society.It represents an integrated management of the public's affairs carried out jointly by the government and 1 3 the citizens while maintaining the ideal state of both entities [3].The presence of just laws, rules, and regulations that are applied fairly is a sign of good governance.A substantial correlation between successful RTI legislation and good governance can be seen internationally; RTI legislation has come to represent a nation's dedication to good governance [4].
In its definition of good governance, the United Nations outlines eight key traits.It is participative, consensus-oriented, responsive, open, and accountable, as well as efficient and effective; ensures that the voices of the most vulnerable members of society are heard, that corruption is kept to a minimum, and that minorities' perspectives are taken into consideration; it also satisfies the demands of both the current and upcoming social generations [5].Many people believe that the Right to Information (RTI) is a basic human right and, according to international law, is covered by speech freedom.Pakistan is required to grant its citizens the right to free talk because it is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which it has ratified, which addresses this issue [6].Although Article 19-A of the Pakistani Constitution of 1973 guaranteed freedom of speech, It did not acknowledge the constitutionality of the right to access information.Article 19-A was added to the Pakistani constitution through the 18 Amendment in 2010, establishing the right and freedom to information.As stated in 19-A article: "Subject to reasonable legal restrictions and regulations, every citizen has the right to information on all matters of public importance".Therefore, all Pakistanis have a constitutional right to information under Article 19-A of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan [7].To make this right a reality, a number of federal and provincial governments have passed laws that give people accessibility to the public record and allow them to use their right to obtain the knowledge they require.The law regime pertaining to the freedom of knowledge or the right to information in Pakistan is relatively new; the first was introduced in the upper house of parliament (Senate) in 1990 by the Naib Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Professor Khurshid Ahmed.However, neither the then-Government nor the Senate took it seriously; an Anti-Corruption Committee was established by the administration of former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto later in the 1990s to investigate the causes of corruption and offer suggestions.So Freedom of Information Act was passed, and it was one of the Committee's main recommendations.However, strong opposition from vested interests prevented this recommendation from being put into action.Access to Information Ordinance 1996 was a law that was introduced in 1996 by a law minister serving in the interim cabinet of President Farooq Laghari, but the Ordinance was never signed or put into effect.The Freedom of Information Ordinance of 1997 was enacted on January 29, 1997, by caretaker Prime Minister Malik Meraj Khalid (late).This achievement was short-lived because the succeeding Nawaz Sharif government was unable to get the Ordinance approved by Parliament, which led to the Ordinance's expiration.A detailed plan of action for Pakistan that included administrative and judicial reforms was approved in 2001 by the Asian Development Bank [8].In order to implement this plan, Pakistan had to increase citizens' access to justice, which included passing legislation supporting information freedom.The Federal FOI (Freedom of Information Ordinance) was thus enacted by the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf in 2002.Prior to the passage of this Ordinance, the 1984 Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order's rules applied to the issue of public documents.Public and private documents are defined in Articles 85 and 86, but these articles' main goals were to make it easier to produce documents in court as evidence rather than to guarantee government transparency or give the general public access to information.With the promulgation of the Federal FOI 2002 on October 26, 2002, An RTI was first implemented in Pakistan, the first country in South Asia.The Freedom of Information Rules was later developed by the Cabinet Division on June 18, 2004, to put the law into practice.Before the RTI Act 2013 was enacted and the Federal FOI Ordinance was repealed, it was in effect for twelve years [7].By any international standards on the right to information, the 2002 FOI Ordinance was a deficient piece of legislation.It was not fully implemented, in addition to numerous gaps; in hindsight, it appears that it was only created to fulfill the ABD loan requirement and not to advance the fundamental human right to information access.However, it provided the framework and prepared the way for becoming the model for the subsequent provincial laws.The presence of just laws, rules, and regulations that are applied fairly is a sign of good governance likewise human rights must also be fully upheld and protected.
The focus of the current study is on federal and provincial legislation regarding the 'Right to Information' for good governance in Pakistan.A strong correlation between good governance and effective RTI laws has been seen internationally; RTI laws are now seen as a sign of a nation's commitment to good governance.More than 125 nations currently have RTI laws in place; these regulations are meant to protect citizens' access to information.Citizens can file complaints with specific organizations established for the RTI law's implementation if the government refuses to give information.These organizations have the legal authority to hear cases involving bureaucratic denials of information.The novelty of this essay is to look at the legal underpinnings of Pakistan's RTI laws to ascertain whether their intended objectives of openness, transparency, and good governance will be attained.2 Literature review

Fundamental rights and RTI significance
In order to better their social and political lives and to ensure those citizens are requesting more rights as time goes on and political awareness increases, citizens are demanding transparency and good governance.This is because, without rights, citizens cannot raise their standard of living [7].According to Laski, Rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek, in general, to be himself at his best and these rights are separated into two categories initially: legal and moral rights [9].An individual's moral sense allows them to recognize moral rights, whereas legal rights require state recognition.Additionally, rights are crucial for every person, society, and government; a person cannot raise their standard of living or alter their way of life if they do not have rights.Society would resemble a jungle without rights, where the rule of might applies, so rights are crucial to society.Additionally, the state must acknowledge rights in order for them to exist; if it fails to do so, it forfeits its patriotism and turns into a despotic regime [10].The judiciary is designated as the rights' custodian and most rights are made a part of the constitution.Therefore, the judiciary plays a significant role, and as a result, it maintains its independence in most political structures.According to Banisar [11], the right to ingress information associated with government entities (RTI) stipulates that people have a fundamental civil right to request knowledge associated with government entities.This privilege results from the freedom of speech which is regarded as a fundamental human right by all advanced nations; any citizen may request public information from any government agency under this right, and the institution is obligated to respond.The request may be denied if there is a valid legal justification, but otherwise, the institution is required to provide the requested information; a transparent and accountable democratic system is ensured by this process [12].
The RTI is an essential tool for creating a balance of powers on the behavior of government officials because it removes barriers from the way that ineffective management, corruption, and abuse of power can precede [13].The most vital freedoms that ensure the foundation of a democratic structure are freedom of speech and freedom of expression; democracy cannot exist without these freedoms.It is impossible to describe a system in which there is no freedom of speech or expression as democratic; instead, such a system is a dictatorship in which nobody is given such rights.It guarantees the freedom to object to government decisions if they only serve a narrow group of interests or the interests of the majority.By granting the public access to information related to the public, it is ensured that what the government does is for the benefit of the people by the tenacity of good governance.The general public will become more informed and involved in governmental affairs if RTI [14] is granted to them in the future.Because they will feel more accountable, government policies will be based on openness and transparency, increasing the checks and balances on the executive branch [15].One of the pillars of these reforms is "the establishment or strengthening of local government," which serves as the first step in putting the assumptions of good governance into practice.More accountability is produced by democratic systems, but if they are transparent, they will also produce more accountable systems."Good Governance" calls for the promotion of transparency through the devolution of information and the establishment of an accountability system for public functionaries.
To ensure greater accountability, the consultation process with citizen involvement in decision-making would gradually become more prominent [16].As a consequence of the close relationship between good governance and the RTI, if we examine the key components of good governance as defined by the World Bank i.e., we can conclude the right to information is the only means by which the objectives of good governance can be fulfilled.According to Pandey and Mishra [17], the right to information can promote participation, accountability, and transparency.So many developing or developed nations have passed laws to protect the right to information, while the most of other nations have considered the significance of this right and are working to enact similar laws.Pakistan also has guaranteed this right by including it in its national constitution; the RTI can be expressed in a variety of ways depending on the country, including " Information rights, including the freedom to access information, the right to know, the right to access public records, etc."

Principles of RTI for good governance
Ingress to information legislation is thought to be associated with countries that have lower levels of corruption because these countries have the additional tool of being able to request information and thereby make the government Vol:.(1234567890)

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Discover Global Society (2023) 1:12 | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-023-00015-7 1 3 transparent [18].The ten nations with the best scores in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index also have effective laws allowing people to view government records, according to a cursory glance at the report of the index.The same list also shows the bottom ten nations considered to have the worst levels of corruption; not a single nation on this list has access to the information system that is operational.The internal unrest, security issues, and domestic authoritarian political systems that exist in these same countries are also a problem.Despite experiencing security issues, Pakistan's position in the Transparency International Perception ranking rose from 139th in 2012 to 127th in 2013 and 116th in 2016 (Transparency International, 2016).
Principles that determine whether a law is good or bad are used to evaluate rights to information laws globally.The fundamentals of information freedom are derived from regional and global legal norms, state best practices, and general legal principles [19].By evaluating them against the current international norms for granting citizens access to information held by the government, we will determine whether our provincial and federal legislation follows these principles.The following are some of the fundamental ideas.
1.The maximization of disclosure should be the guiding principle for freedom of information legislation.2. Public authorities are required to provide the public with pertinent information about their organization.3. Clearly defined and circumscribed exemptions and exceptions are required.4. Information requests should be handled impartially and quickly.

Methodology
The study operates on a review of the available literature and content analysis [20] was done to complete this case study.A case study is an in-depth examination of a particular subject; researchers commonly utilize case studies in various fields such as social sciences, education, clinical research, and business studies [21].The choice of a case study research design is appropriate when the aim is to acquire specific, contextual, and comprehensive insights into a real-world subject [22].It facilitates an exploration of the essential characteristics, meanings, and consequences associated with the chosen case [23].For content analysis; the required data was collected from various government offices in Pakistan including the ministry of law, interior ministry, and ministry of foreign affairs in Pakistan.Analyses of Pakistani laws constitute major sources of primary information.An attempt has been made to gather information from a variety of sources while keeping in mind the nature of the problem and subject being researched.As a result, primary and secondary sources were combined.Documents from the International agencies organization, books, journals, and official announcements and communications have all been used to gather and transfer information.

Federal government legislation
Article 19-A of the 1973 constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, states unequivocally that every person has the right to way in knowledge on all issues of people concern, liable to any rational legal limitation.Even though the federal FOI Act 2002 was largely ineffective in practice; the RTI became a constitutional civil right in 2010 with the passage of the 18th Amendment.As a result, draft RTI legislation was completed by the Committee of the Senate on Broadcasting and Information in July 2014 and passed in May 2017 by the Standing Committee of the Senate.The Federal Government tried to postpone the passage of the right-to-information law and justified this delay by citing concerns about "security" in the nation [24].The proposed bill contains an exception that forbids information sharing that blatantly violates federal legislation pertaining to national security.Although they do have exemption provisions, other nations with good RTI laws exist; for instance, "Information Disclosure and Corporate Governance in China" is a role model for Pakistan and other countries.The implementation of the right to information in practice will lead to the eradication of corruption, the creation of a system that is transparent and accountable, and the creation of checks and balances against the abuse of power [25].The Punjab law was first proposed in 2010, but it wasn't passed until 2013; although it complies with the majority of the global requirements for RTI legislation, it is hushed on some matters and Processes and left to be resolved by the bylaw and rules.First, there was concern that the law would have significant implementation issues if the rules weren't made in time; however, after the appointment of a Chief Commissioner and two additional Commissioners in 2014, rules were created and a Commission was established.The Punjab Commission only received 800 complaints about the Government failing to respond to their information requests over the course of just 5 months in 2017.The Commission, however, was unable to investigate these complaints because it is essentially non-functional [26].

The Sindh RTI and Transparency Act 2017 (Sindh)
The FIO, which was adopted by the federal government in 2002, was replicated by the Sindh Province in 2006.Another piece of legislation, the Sindh FOI Bill, 2015, was drafted, but it only slightly improved upon the earlier Act.The bureaucracy was still in charge of the information in the end, though, because of the way it was handled.After organizations of civil society, legal professionals, and journalists expressed their disapproval of the draft, an assembly committee for Sindh was established by the government, made up of both the opposition and government to work together on improving and reviewing the draft.Due to the incorporation of the spirit of easing people's access to and acquisition of knowledge, a much better law was created as a result, one that meets international standards.It was approved in March 2017 and was made into legislation; it complies with all requirements for a successful RTI, including the need for proactive disclosure, minimum exemptions, and maximum disclosure [27].It also establishes a simple and affordable procedure for the general people to obtain knowledge from the government.However, the Sindh Government had to give it the resources and staff members who would be in charge of it, as designated officers, a budget, and a Commission.

The 2013 Right to Information Act for Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK)
The RTI Act 2013 was first published in the province of Khyber Pakhtun Khwa.In terms of recognizing the public's right to access information, it was hailed as one of the most progressive laws at the highest levels of international society."The KP RTI Ordinance includes every component necessary for a solid RTI law.According to a World Bank expert, this is why it receives a score of 143 and is at the top of the RTI rankings worldwide (The News, 2013).The adoption of this law improved Pakistan's overall evaluation of UN development assessments.The First Amendment of the RTI of KPK establishes the legal tone by stating that information transparency is essential for democracy to function; additionally, it states that the law would increase public accountability for the government and other institutions while reducing corruption and enhancing governance [28].In addition, it acknowledges that citizens have the right to participate in governmental affairs so that they can make a meaningful contribution to the growth of democracy and believes that the law itself will encourage greater participation and contribution from citizens.It has very few exceptions for withholding information, and requesting the information has been made very simple and accessible to the public with minimal expense.

The Freedom of Information Act of 2005 in Baluchistan (Baluchistan)
In response to the Federal FIO, 2002 the provinces decided to enact their own laws of freedom of access knowledge; in 2005, the first Act was passed by the province of Baluchistan.A few changes indicate that the law is a provincial one distinguishing the Baluchistan RTI Act from the FIO, 2002.If we use the global RTI principles, the Baluchistan RTI Act of 2005 is a very flimsy piece of legislation; given that it only addresses a small subset of public bodies, this law's reach is constrained and the private sector is not covered.The Baluchistan government is not mandated by law to actively publish and make public use of documents like annual budgets and development plans, postings and transfers, employment, or other government documents like contract awards, etc. [29].Although the law specifies how the public can access government information, the process is not user-friendly.The phrase "Procedure for disposal of applicants" appears in Section 13.The designated official is required by law to provide needed information within twenty-one days if they feel it needs to be provided.According to this section, the concerned official is free to use his or her discretion when deciding whether or not to provide information.The designated official has four additional grounds for withholding information in addition to the exempt information list: Review Discover Global Society (2023) 1:12 | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-023-00015-7 1 3 (1) There is no application on the necessary form (2) The application has not been submitted with the necessary data (3) Such information is not permitted to be provided to the applicant (4) The sought-after details are not public knowledge.
This gives the designated official a lot of power to either delay or refuse information sharing.Additionally, a comprehensive list of information that is not subject to sharing, or exemptions, is provided.This information cannot be disclosed, according to Section 8 of the FOI law in Baluchistan, which is titled "Exclusion of certain record".As a result, the Baluchistan FOI Act discourages citizens from asking the government for information rather than encouraging them to do so.

Discussion
Different researchers already had done studies regarding the Right to information and Good Governance in the current scenario of Pakistan.Kamran, et al. discussed the right to information and good governance from a social perspective [30].Ali, et al. work on the right to information to keep in view the post-18th amendment perspective using Federalism and Decentralization Mechanism in Pakistan [31].Sultan, et al. presented an analysis of the Right to Information Act 2013 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province [28].Mughal, et al. try to explore the good governance in Pakistan by identifying the problems and their possible solutions [32].Another study was conducted by Khan, et al. in which authors explore the prospects and challenges regarding good governance in Pakistan [33].Different authors focus on different province's legislation and some authors focus on federal legislation.But our case study is innovative in its nature; because this study covers the research gap.In this study, we present legislation of all provinces of Pakistan, along with the federal Government legislation.This study provides a strong basis that the right to information is mandatory for good governance.Despite being founded in 1947, Pakistan has had governance issues since then; its first constitution was implemented in 1956, but it was abolished in 1958; then, in 1962, a new constitution went into effect, but it was also short-lived before being repealed in 1969; then, in 1973, a third constitution went into effect.However, like the previous two constitutions, it was unable to last and was suspended.In Pakistan, governments have also been unable to complete their terms.As a result, the right to information has historically received less attention.The future of Pakistan will be determined by its ability to effectively implement laws.In a democratic nation like Pakistan, which is home to numerous multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic groups, the implementation of the right to information can be very important.Additionally, both the individual and the larger society will gain from it; a few obstacles might stand in the way of its implementation, but they could be overcome with the right steps i.e. effective registration RTI act and its proper implementation.The Freedom of Information Ordinance was in place in Pakistan for more than 15 years, but even though some semblance of a right to information existed, nothing to merit its glory.The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the vibrant media have all filled the gap left by the absence of a robust right-to-information regime, ensuring that people's fundamental human rights are now fully protected.The Suo Moto area of authority provided in accordance with Article 184(3) and in combination with Article 199 of the Pakistani Constitution was extensively used by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary (retired), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to protect Pakistan's fundamental human rights; on the thousands of complaints that the Supreme Court's Human Rights Cell had received, he took action on his own (The News, 2013).The majority of these cases involved violations of human rights and corruption.The media keeps doing its part to highlight the corruption that exists in the nation; better Right to Information Laws are now in place in Pakistan, giving citizens more legal protections for obtaining public information and giving the government more responsibilities in this area [34].

Conclusion
Citizens of Pakistan are permitted access to information held by the national government under the FOI Ordinance.The provincial governments or privately funded enterprises are not covered by the Ordinance; it solely applies to federal government organizations.According to the Freedom of Information Rules of 2004, applicants must pay a fee and include the aim of their query by outlining the precise justifications for why they require the information.The applicant has the option of complaining to the head of the public body if the required information is not given within 21 days.Only public records may be accessed, thus notes, meeting times, information about a person's financial accounts, classified material, information relating to national security, etc. are not permitted.).The majority of these instances involved violations of human rights and malfeasance.To conclude we can say, that the creation of a transparent and accountable government, proper arrangements to control corruption, and a check on the abuse of power will result from the full implementation of the right to information mechanism.As a result, Pakistan will experience real good governance.There are elements and forces that work to preserve and defend the modest advancements in democracy and human rights that have been made in developing nations like Pakistan.Therefore, while having effective RTI laws is crucial for countries like Pakistan as a beginning point; all other elements of security and peace, such as government organizations, and national leaders, must also be guaranteed for its well functioning toward transparent and open government.

Recommendations
Better Right to Information Laws are now in place in Pakistan, giving citizens additional legal protections for obtaining public information and giving the government more responsibilities in this area.The awareness and motivation to exercise one's right to knowledge must exist.The first and most important prerequisite for an entity to have effective governance and to flourish is internal peace and security, which can allow it to move forward on the path of development.Even when a nation has internal unrest, assault, and insecurity that endangers the rule of law, effective right to information legislation cannot be highly successful.The political will to put an end to terrorism and instability, which breed inadequate institutions and their byproducts like money laundering, graft, nepotism, etc., is of utmost importance.The environment is conducive to dishonesty, poor leadership, and bad governance if the context in which political determination is to exist is antagonistic and unsecure in itself.As a result, competing priorities of peace and security override the political will.As a consequence, while having strong RTI rules is a will for nations like Pakistan as a basis for progress, every other aspect of security and peace, including strong institutions, honest leaders, education, along with development, are also required for it to function properly and lead in the sought management, good governance, and advancement toward a transparent and open government.
To make use of their right to knowledge, people must be conscious and motivated; the first and most important requirement for a nation is to develop good governance and internal peace and security, which can allow it to advance along the path of development.Even so, effective information rights legislation is not likely to be present when a nation is dealing with internal unrest, violence, and insecurity that threaten the rule of law.The political will to end to insecurity and terrorism, which breed weak institutions and their byproducts like nepotism, money laundering corruption, etc., is of utmost importance.
The 2004 FOI Ordinance served as the foundation for the 2005 Baluchistan Freedom of Information Act and the 2006 Sindh Transparency of Information Act, two provincial statutes.In 2013, the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Ordinance and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act (KPK RTI) were both passed.The KPK RTI Act applies to both official governmental organizations and non-governmental groups that receive government funding (such as publicly sponsored local service organizations).The effectiveness of a state's executive branch are key factor in determining its success; Good governance is a vital prerequisite for the advancement of any country and is necessary for the effective delivery of public services.Subsequent Pakistani governments have failed to undertake crucial administration-related reforms, which has resulted in the malice of bad governance haunting the nation's governing paradigm.There are different factors that work to preserve and defend the modest advancements in human rights and democracy that have been accomplished in developing nations like Pakistan.The Freedom of Information Ordinance was in place in Pakistan for over a decade, yet despite the appearance of an inherent right to data, nothing contributed to its glory.The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and the dynamic media have all stepped in to fill the gap left by the absence of a robust freedom to information framework in order to preserve people's fundamental human rights.In order to protect Pakistan's fundamental human rights, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary (retired) made significant use of the Suo Moto authority provided under Article 184(3) and in combination with Article 199 of the Pakistani Constitution.He initiated action on his own after the Supreme Court's Human Rights Cell heard thousands of petitions (The News, 2013