Appoint information commissioners immediately

We second the Right to Information (RTI) Forum’s call to immediately appoint information commissioners and further amend the RTI (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, before passing it in the upcoming parliamentary session. It is a shame that the Information Commission has been left without leadership for 18 months, after all three previous commissioners resigned following the July 2024 uprising. Despite repeated calls since then from rights activists and civil society organisations (CSOs), the interim government did not appoint new commissioners.

Although it did amend the 2009 RTI law, it skipped several important changes proposed by CSOs. For instance, the 2026 amendments expanded the definition of “information” to include memoranda, maps, contracts, and audiovisual materials, but left out official note sheets. Furthermore, local government bodies, private entities operating under government contracts or licences, and political parties registered with the Election Commission have not been brought under the purview of the law. CSOs also urged the government to review Section 7 of the RTI Act, 2009, which outlines the categories of information that public, autonomous, and statutory organisations, as well as private institutions constituted or run by the government or through foreign financing, are not required to publish or provide. However, many government departments may misuse the clauses in this section to withhold crucial information. Therefore, it is pertinent that these amendments be made.

Nevertheless, the appointment of information commissioners is even more urgent. Without them, citizens cannot file complaints with the commission when their right to access information is denied. As stipulated in the current RTI Act, when a designated officer of an organisation that falls within the scope of the law fails to provide requested information to a citizen, the latter has the right to appeal to the appellate authority within the same office. If the appellate authority does not take any action, the citizen can then complain to the commission. But without commissioners, there has been no one to take citizens’ complaints into cognisance. As a result, more than 1,000 complaints are already pending.

Therefore, the government should take immediate steps to form the Information Commission and introduce a time limit within which the commissioners must be appointed. This will help avoid long vacancies in these crucial posts in the future. It goes without saying that the independence of the commission must be ensured by appointing qualified, non-partisan individuals. To ensure transparency, the appointment committee should include CSO members and rights activists. The government must take all necessary measures to ensure that this vital organisation functions properly.