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- PILDAT Lauds the Punjab Assembly�s lead in Greater Transparency
- Punjab Assembly has set a trend that other Assemblies Follow,
recommends PILDAT
April 15: PILDAT has welcomed the Provincial Assembly of the
Punjab taking a lead in making MPAs' attendance record available on the Assembly
website. Terming it as a significant step towards greater transparency and public
openness, PILDAT has demanded that the other Legislatures of the country should
follow the lead of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.
In a statement issued today PILDAT lauded the decision by the
elected leadership of the Assembly for taking the much-needed initiative. Citizens
need to know the attendance and performance of their elected representatives,
the statement says, adding that withholding of this key information by other
Legislatures violates every basic requirement of representation and of transparency.
Public availability of legislative attendance records of legislators will help
the country adopt global standards of Parliamentary openness and transparency.
PILDAT, which has been advocating for greater transparency
in the Parliament for years, has repeatedly asked the National Assembly of Pakistan
to provide the attendance records of individual members publicly, finally invoking
the Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002, upon the Secretariat's refusal to
provide attendance records. PILDAT appealed to the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal
Ombudsman), which upheld PILDAT's point of view to provide the requested attendance
records. The National Assembly chose to file an appeal against the verdict and
the case is pending with the President of Pakistan for the past many months.
PILDAT hopes that the Honourable President would decide in favour of greater
transparency, especially in light of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab's
decision to publicly provide attendance record of its members.
PILDAT
moves Ombudsman for MNAs Attendance Data; invokes Freedom of Information law
after Assembly refuses data - March 22, 2013
Federal
Ombudsman upholds PILDAT's position; directs National Assembly to share Attendance
Records of MNAs - October 28, 2013 |
