• Says only 54pc of required information is published by public bodies
• Notes lack of transparency contributing to misinformation and public distrust

ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has called for urgent legal and institutional reforms to address structural and implementation gaps in the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act (STRIA) 2016.

In a policy brief titled ‘Closing the Information Gap: The Case for Reforming the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016’, Fafen urged the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, the Sindh Information Commission, and the provincial government to work collaboratively to transform the law’s promise of transparency into effective practice.

The policy brief is part of Fafen’s ‘Countering Disinforma­tion through Reliable Govern-ment Information’ campaign.

Nine years after the Sindh Assembly enacted the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information (STRI) Act, 2016, public institutions remain largely non-compliant with its proactive disclosure requirements.

A 2025 assessment conducted by Fafen of 61 public bodies comprising 36 secretariat departments and 25 attached departments found that, on average, Sindh’s public institutions publish only 54 per cent of the information mandated by law. Only 15pc of the assessed public bodies published any description of how decisions are made, leaving citizens without sufficient evidence to evaluate government actions.

Similarly, only six percent maintained or published records of RTI applications received and actions taken — the very metric that makes the Act self-enforcing.

Moreover, 86pc of public bodies did not identify their Public Infor­mation Officers online, effectively denying citizens their statutory point of access.

“Each of these gaps creates conditions that enable disinformation. The remedy is not the criminalisation of false information, as such measures risk suppressing legitimate speech and are often weaponised against journalists and civil society. The real solution lies in mandatory, verifiable, and enforceable disclosure,” the policy brief notes.

The brief states that the consequences of this compliance gap extend beyond procedural shortcomings. When official information is absent, the resulting vacuum is often filled by speculation, rumours, and deliberate misinformation. To address these issues, Fafen recommends several reforms, including clarifying key definitions to expand the law’s scope, mandating annual compliance reports by public bodies, and introducing whistleblower protections to strengthen internal accountability.

The brief also calls for a transparent and consultative process for appointing Information Commissioners, enhanced financial autonomy through a dedicated fund, and stronger legal powers for the Sindh Information Commission.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026