Pakistan Information Commission Orders NA Secretariat to Disclose Committee Expenses and Perks
The Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) has directed the National Assembly Secretariat to give detailed information on expenditures, travel allowances, perks and privileges of chairpersons and members of parliamentary standing committees and subcommittees. The order follows an appeal by a journalist. The Secretariat has 10 days to respond, and the PIC has set Nov 19 to review compliance.
H2: Background: How the Appeal Reached the Commission
H3: The information request
Journalist Saddia Mazhar submitted her request on June 21, according to Dawn. She asked for details on the functioning and spending of parliamentary committees from January 2025 onwards. That included lists of standing committees and subcommittees, the number of meetings held, and the total spent on those meetings.
She also asked for the travel allowances paid to committee members and chairpersons. Her request covered the full details of perks, privileges and other payments to lawmakers serving on these committees.
H3: From request to appeal
Mazhar says she did not get a satisfactory reply from the NA Secretariat, so she filed an appeal with the PIC on July 5. The Secretariat later sent responses that were shared with her. She maintained that, apart from the first question on the list of standing committees, the remaining questions went unanswered.
Dawn reports that National Assembly Litigation Officer Sehrish Mushtaq represented the Secretariat during the proceedings.
H2: Details: What the Pakistan Information Commission Ordered
H3: The directive and the deadline
The order was issued by Information Commissioner Ijaz Hassan Awan and Chief Information Commissioner Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Dawn reports. They directed the NA Secretary to give clear and specific replies to questions 2 to 14, which Dawn describes as 13 outstanding questions, within 10 days. These come under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017 (RTI Act).
The commission has scheduled implementation proceedings for Nov 19. At that hearing it will check whether the Secretariat has complied.
H3: Why website information was not enough
The PIC acknowledged that a large amount of parliamentary information is already published on the National Assembly’s website. But it found that this material did not address the journalist’s specific questions. In its words, the information provided does not meet the specific requirements set out in the information request.
The commission stressed that public bodies must give objective and specific answers under the RTI Act. This applies even where related information is already available online.
H3: What the law says
Dawn notes that any citizen of Pakistan can submit a request to the designated official of a public body. A valid request must identify the information in enough detail for the body to find it. It must also include a complete address and contact details for delivery.
The same report says information on licences, allotments and other benefits, privileges, contracts and agreements made by a public body is publicly disclosable under the Act.
H2: Quotes: What Each Side Has Said
The PIC’s reasoning is set out in its order, which Dawn has seen. It insists on specific answers rather than general references to published records.
The NA Secretariat’s response to the latest order was not reported in the coverage I found, so I cannot state its position on this directive. In a separate case, Reuters-style court coverage shows the Secretariat has argued in the Islamabad High Court that details of standing committees cannot be provided. The Express Tribune and The News reported on May 6 that the court reserved its verdict on that petition. I cannot confirm that it is the same dispute as this one, or what the court later decided.
H2: Impact: Why It Matters for Transparency
H3: Accountability for public money
The order concerns how public money is spent on parliamentary committees, which oversee government ministries. An Express Tribune report from 2019 estimated that perks for standing committee chairs and members would cost about Rs31 million a year. A 2024 ProPakistani report put a committee chairman’s total monthly pay at Rs213,000 and attendance pay at Rs8,800 per session. Those figures are dated, and I cannot confirm what is paid today. That is why the commission’s disclosure order matters.
H3: A pattern of PIC orders against the NA Secretariat
This is not the first order of its kind. In July, APP reported that the PIC directed the Secretariat to disclose records on lawyers it hired and the payments made to them. In September, the Pakistan Press Foundation reported a PIC ruling that the NA Speaker’s classification of certain records cannot restrict a citizen’s right to information.
The PIC publishes its Pakistan Information Commission orders on its website, rti.gov.pk. I could not verify whether it publishes a cause list there, so check the site directly.
H3: Federal commission versus Punjab Information Commission
The federal PIC covers federal public bodies. The Punjab Information Commission in Lahore is a separate body, created under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013. A search for the Punjab Information Commission’s website or its Chief Information Commissioner will lead to a different office.
I found no law called the “Pakistan Information Commission Act.” The federal commission is set up under Section 18 of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017, according to Wikipedia.
H2: Conclusion: What Comes Next
The next step is Nov 19, when the PIC will review whether the NA Secretariat has answered the 13 questions. If the Secretariat gives full, specific answers, the public could learn how much parliamentary committees spend on meetings and travel. If it does not, the matter could return to the commission or go to court.
Readers should watch for any statement from the Secretariat and for the outcome of the Nov 19 hearing.
H2: FAQs
H3: What is happening in Pakistan latest news?
On 7 November 2026, Dawn’s headlines included the PIC’s order on NA committee expenses, a government announcement of an auto policy focused on cheaper vehicles and electric vehicles, and a report that the Election Commission has abandoned preparations for local government polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Dawn also carried a report that the government declared a public holiday on Nov 9 for Iqbal Day.
These are headline-level summaries from Dawn’s site, not detailed reporting. Dawn lists the latest stories on its homepage and updates them throughout the day, so check the full reports there for facts and context.
H3: What is the latest news on the pension increase in Pakistan for 2026?
The federal government notified a 7% increase in pensions effective from 1 July 2026, according to ProPakistani and Pakistan Observer. It covers retired civil servants, civilians paid from defence estimates, and armed forces and civil armed forces pensioners. Reports say pensioners retiring on or after that date keep the 15% increase from 2022 and the 7% increase from 2025.
Sources differ on how it is calculated. ProPakistani and TechJuice say the increase applies to the baseline pension, while some other outlets say net pension. Provinces differ: Dawn reported in June that the Punjab government granted 3.5%, which the Punjab Government Pensioners Association rejected, and ProPakistani reported a 7% increase on net pension for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Check the official Finance Division notification for your own case.
H3: What is RTI in Pakistan?
RTI stands for Right to Information. At the federal level, it refers to the Right of Access to Information Act 2017, which lets citizens request records from federal public bodies. The Pakistan Information Commission hears appeals when a body refuses or fails to provide the information. Provinces have their own laws, such as the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.
Under the federal law, a request must describe the information in enough detail and include contact details for delivery, according to Dawn’s report on the PIC order. If the public body does not answer properly, the requester can appeal to the PIC. In this case, Saddia Mazhar’s appeal led to the 10-day order. I cannot confirm the Act’s general time limits from the sources I checked, so read the Act itself or the commission’s guidance.
