ISLAMABAD: Journalist Saadia Mazhar has withdrawn her appeal against Pakistan Television (PTV) as a protest over what she described as a prolonged delay of nearly two years in the implementation of an order passed by the Pakistan Information Commission.
Mazhar had filed a Right to Information (RTI) request in October 2024 seeking information about appointments made in PTV. According to her, the required information has still not been provided despite the passage of almost two years.
She has now formally requested that her appeal pending before the Pakistan Information Commission be withdrawn as a mark of protest.
According to Mazhar, the commission allowed her appeal after approximately one year, although the matter was required to be decided within 60 days under the law. The commission had directed PTV to provide the requested information within 10 days.
She said the order was issued around September 2025, but despite the passage of almost another year, the information had still not been provided.
Mazhar said the matter was repeatedly adjourned during this period and additional time was granted, but no effective progress was made. She said the commission had legal powers to initiate action in case of non-compliance, but despite having such powers, it could not effectively enforce its own order.
She clarified that withdrawing the appeal did not mean she was giving up her right to obtain the requested information. Rather, she said, the withdrawal was a protest against the commission’s inability to ensure implementation of its own order.
Mazhar further said she had received certain information which she currently considered off the record and was therefore not making any allegations against any individual or institution. However, she said the information referred to certain meetings, appointment requests and other matters involving PTV, the Ministry of Information and the commission.
According to her, these details raise questions about institutional transparency and possible conflicts of interest. She stressed that she was not presenting the information at this stage as conclusive evidence or as an allegation.
Mazhar said that if an institution from which citizens expect protection and enforcement of their right to information was itself unable to ensure implementation of an order issued by it, it raised questions about the effectiveness and credibility of the entire RTI system.
She has asked the commission to clearly include and address, in its forthcoming order, all objections submitted by her, the unusual delay in the RTI matter, the failure to implement the commission’s own order, the non-use of available legal powers, and the reasons behind her decision to withdraw the appeal in protest.
“I am not giving up my right to information; rather, I am protesting against the lack of effective progress for nearly two years,” Mazhar said.
