Pakistan Commission orders Senate to provide inquiry report — Dawn
The Pakistan Information Commission has ordered the Senate Secretariat to provide a copy of the final inquiry report concerning a BS-20 officer who travelled abroad with his family for a conference and later applied for asylum. The commission issued its decision in the information-access case on September 8, Dawn reports.
Request for the report
Sohail Abdullah filed an appeal against Pakistan's Senate under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017. He requested the final report of the inquiry into an incident during the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in Geneva in March 2024.
According to the applicant, the officer travelled to the event with family members as part of the delegation. Afterwards, his family members applied for asylum in a European country.
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Commission's decision
The Senate Secretariat objected to the disclosure of the document. It stated that parliament, as well as the secretariats of the Senate and the National Assembly, are constitutional bodies, and therefore the requested information is not subject to disclosure. The Secretariat also referred to the classification of personnel documents in 2019 and the case's consideration by the Islamabad High Court.
The commission ruled that providing the report would not harm the proceedings before the High Court. It recognized the Senate chairman's authority to classify documents, but noted that the orders cited by the Secretariat did not directly classify inquiry materials concerning employees.
A Senate representative confirmed that the inquiry into the officer had been completed, but no disciplinary action had yet been taken. The commission partially upheld the appeal and ordered the Senate secretary to provide the report to Sohail Abdullah and the commission itself within 10 days. The case was adjourned until October 6, 2026, to monitor compliance with the decision.
