ISLAMABAD – Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain says the Right toInformation act will help bring transparency in the country to curbcorruption.
He was addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Monday in connection withlaunch of Federal Information Commission for implementation of FederalRight to Information Law.
He said the law will help journalists to seek information on various issuesfrom the government departments. Each government department will be obligedto give information in ten days. If it does not comply, the case will besent to the relevant Commission.
He said a whistle blower act to curb corruption is also coming soon whichis a great step towards ending this menace.
Reward money of twenty per cent will be given from the recovered amount tothe person who blows the whistle regarding any corruption.
The Information Minister said the information regarding granting ofadvertisements to the newspapers will also be made public soon.
The Minister said thirty four initiatives have been taken by the governmentunder six themes during its one hundred days into power. Referring to theachievements of his ministry, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Right toInformation Act is a significant achievement of his ministry.
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He said the present government has given unprecedented freedom to media. Itliberated the state run radio and TV from the censorship of last 70 years.He said a state-of-the-art university, for not only Pakistan but also forthe whole South Asia, has been planned by information ministry as part of100 days plan.
He said structural reforms are also being made and revamping ofbroadcasting and information units is being done to improve efficiency.
Both Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television Corporation will be convergedand brought under one authority or Board of Governors.
Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said APP will be turned into a modern digitalservice at par with Reuters and other international wire agencies.
He said the previous governments made appointments on political basis dueto which government departments became weaker. He said cumulative losses ofPIA and Steel Mills in 5 years are around 552 billion rupees.
