ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) has directed the National Assembly Secretariat to make public the record of lawyers engaged by it, payments made to them and details of court cases handled by them.
The direction was issued through an order dated July 16, 2026, while allowing an appeal filed by journalist Saddia Mazhar under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017.
According to the order, Ms Mazhar had submitted an information request on April 17, 2026, seeking five categories of information from the National Assembly Secretariat. She asked for a year-wise list of lawyers, advocates, law firms and legal consultants hired by the Secretariat from January 2022 onwards, along with a year-wise break-up of payments made to each of them.
The applicant also sought details of all cases filed by the National Assembly Secretariat before different courts since January 2022, including case numbers, case titles and the names of the courts concerned.
In addition, she requested information about payments made to lawyers engaged for filing Writ Petition No. 2553/2023 and Writ Petition No. 2554/2023 before the Islamabad High Court.
During the hearing, the National Assembly Secretariat argued that the requested information was privileged in view of the Speaker’s Ruling dated October 4, 2024. It also maintained that the record was protected as privileged communication under the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, 1984.
The Commission, after reviewing the request, the Secretariat’s reply and the relevant legal provisions, rejected the stance taken by the Secretariat. It held that the information sought was a public record and did not fall under any exemption provided in the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017.
The PIC further observed that the Speaker’s ruling did not declare information about payments made to lawyers as privileged. It also ruled that the provisions of the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, 1984, did not apply to the information requested by the applicant.
Referring to the purpose of the access to information law, the Commission noted that the legislation was meant to encourage transparency, accountability, public participation, good governance and wider public access to information held by public bodies.
Allowing the appeal, the Pakistan Information Commission directed the Secretary, National Assembly Secretariat, to provide the requested information to Ms Mazhar as well as to the Commission within 10 days.
