The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged sweeping legal and institutional reforms to address persistent gaps in the implementation of the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act (STRIA) 2016, warning that weak compliance is undermining transparency and public trust.
In a policy brief titled “Closing the Information Gap: The Case for Reforming the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016,” FAFEN called on the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, the Sindh Information Commission, and the provincial government to take coordinated action to translate the law’s promise into meaningful access to information.
The brief, released as part of FAFEN’s “Countering Disinformation through Reliable Government Information” campaign, highlights the growing threat of misinformation in Pakistan and stresses that stronger right-to-information (RTI) frameworks are essential to counter false narratives, reduce political polarization, and ensure citizens’ access to verified public information.
Despite being anchored in constitutional guarantees under Article 19A, the implementation of STRIA remains weak. FAFEN’s 2025 assessment of 61 public bodies in Sindh found that, on average, institutions comply with only 54 percent of the law’s proactive disclosure requirements, pointing to a significant transparency deficit.
According to the policy brief, several structural and operational shortcomings are contributing to this gap. These include vague legal definitions that allow arbitrary interpretation, the absence of mandatory compliance reporting by public bodies, and limited digitalisation of RTI processes such as complaint handling and request tracking.
The report also notes the lack of standardised formats for information management and disclosure, resulting in inconsistent and often unusable data across departments. Furthermore, inadequate safeguards for the independence and financial autonomy of the Sindh Information Commission, along with the absence of strategic planning requirements, have constrained the body’s effectiveness as an oversight institution.
To address these challenges, FAFEN has proposed a set of targeted amendments to the law. Key recommendations include clarifying definitions to broaden the scope of the Act, introducing mandatory annual compliance reports, and establishing whistleblower protections to enhance internal accountability.
The organisation has also called for a more transparent and consultative process for appointing Information Commissioners, the creation of a dedicated fund to ensure financial autonomy, and stronger legal powers for the Commission to conduct inspections and issue binding directives.
Emphasising the importance of technology, the brief recommends the development of digital platforms for submitting and tracking RTI requests and complaints, along with automated notifications for applicants. It also proposes standardised disclosure formats tailored to different categories of public bodies to improve consistency, usability, and comparability of information.
FAFEN concluded that without urgent reforms, the existing gaps in Sindh’s RTI framework will continue to hinder transparency efforts and limit citizens’ ability to hold public institutions accountable.
