PPP leaders discusses political situation with Bilawal Bhutto

Karachi: Central Information Secretary of PPP Dr Nafisa Shah, PPP Central Punjab President Qamaruz Zaman Kaira and Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar called on the Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Bilawal House.

The party leaders discussed the PDM’s planned public meetings and rallies in different cities of the four provinces.

Talking to PPP leaders, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that formation of Pakistan Democratic Movement was “the important progress emanating from the APC hosted by our Party and pledged that PDM will be the last nail in the coffin of selected and crumbling regime.”

He said that it is the ripe time for the people of Pakistan to rise up and demolish the sandy castle of the selected regimes built through intrigues and naked rigging and theft of public mandate.

Meanwhile, the interior Ministry today refused to send its representative to the Information Commission to explain why it has refused CCTV footage bearing on the kidnapping of journalist Matiullah Jan recently to a citizen who had demanded it under the Right to Information Act of 2017.

Earlier the Ministry had refused to even acknowledge the request of petitioner former Senator Farhautllah Babar and the letter by the Information Commission to respond to the petitioner.

The hearing was held today before the 3-member Information Commission headed by Chief Commissioner Mr Muhammad Azam and comprising of Commissioners Zahid Abdullah and Fawad Malik in its office in Islamabad.

Pleading before the Commission Senator Farhatullah Babar referred to section 5 (l) of the RTI Act which declares as public document “camera footage at public places, wherever available, which have a bearing on a crime”.

The kidnapping of Matiullah Jan was a criminal act he said adding that Interior Ministry as incharge of the capital police was the public today was obligated under the law to provide the footage.

He hoped that if the footage was provided to him he would with the help of experts be able to identify the perpetrators of the crime and the vehicles used in the kidnapping.

Farhatullah Babar said that if the interior ministry finally declined to give the footage for whatever reasons he, as a petitioner, would become entitled to even demand minutes recorded on the official file dealing with the case. He said that under section 7 (a) of the RTI Act noting on the files after the final decision had been taken is a public document and the interior will have to provide it to him. The Information Commission after hearing the arguments reserved its verdict which under the law it will have to announce within ten days.