Rabia Mustafa
The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) is observed on 28 September every year. This day is observed to seek and receive information which is a fundamental human right in order to have accountable governance and informed public participation. UNESCO proclaimed the Day in 2015, and the United Nations General Assembly subsequently recognized 28 September as the International Day for Universal Access to Information in 2019. The United Nations (UN) describes universal access to information as the right of everyone to seek, receive and impart information and emphasizes its close relationship with freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
The theme for 2026 is “Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The role of access to Information in addressing Information Disorder.” The digital revolution has placed an extraordinary volume of information within immediate reach of billions of people. Yet greater availability of information has not necessarily produced better-informed societies. Misinformation, disinformation, manipulated content and unreliable data can circulate alongside credible information, often making it difficult for citizens to distinguish fact from falsehood. The UN emphasizes that access alone is no longer sufficient: people need timely and reliable information on which they can base decisions and participate meaningfully in society.
Access to information is much more than the ability to obtain a government document. It enables citizens to understand how decisions are made, how public money is spent, how public institutions perform and why governments adopt particular policies. An informed citizen can question public authorities, participate in public affairs and demand accountability. Conversely, secrecy and unreliable public information can weaken trust between citizens and institutions.
The UN appropriately summarizes this relationship through the idea that “information is power.” It explains that citizens can hold governments accountable for their decisions and actions only when they know how they are governed. Universal access to information is consequently regarded as a cornerstone of healthy and inclusive knowledge societies.
This principle also forms part of the global sustainable-development agenda. UNESCO is the custodian agency for SDG Indicator 16.10.2, which monitors countries’ adoption and implementation of constitutional, statutory and policy guarantees for public access to information. According to the UN’s 2026 observance material, 123 countries and territories participated in UNESCO’s 2025 Survey on Public Access to Information. Till date, 141 countries and territories had a legal guarantee of access to information.
The distinction between adoption and implementation is particularly important. Passing a right-to-information law is an essential first step, but it does not necessarily mean that citizens can obtain information effectively. The real test is whether institutions maintain reliable records, proactively disclose information, respond to requests within prescribed periods, justify refusals, provide effective appeals and make information accessible in forms ordinary citizens can use.
Pakistan provides an important example of this distinction between legal recognition and practical implementation. The country’s constitutional foundation is Article 19A of the Constitution, which is identified in Pakistan’s SDG 16.10.2 assessment as the fundamental guarantee concerning access to information. Pakistan also has Right to Information legislative framework and dedicated information commissions at the national and provincial levels, providing an institutional structure for supervision and enforcement of the right.
The framework contains several important safeguards. Public bodies are required to appoint public information officers or establish designated arrangements to handle requests from citizens. The assessment further records that the access-to-information oversight mechanism performs functions relating to oversight, appeals, monitoring of implementation and enforcement of compliance. These are significant institutional foundations for translating a constitutional right into an enforceable entitlement.
Pakistan’s overall result in the assessment is 8.4, consisting of 4.8 for adoption of the legal and institutional framework and 3.6 for implementation. The difference between these two components is instructive. It suggests that Pakistan has developed a substantial formal framework, while practical implementation and monitoring provide greater room for improvement.
There are positive indications of implementation. The assessment records that during 2024 the dedicated access-to-information institution published an annual report, provided implementation guidance or training to officials, raised public awareness, and maintained statistics concerning information requests and appeals.
At the same time, the assessment exposes important information gaps. It records 5,601 formal access-to-information requests during January-December 2024, of which 933 were reported as pending, but provides no data on how many requests were actually granted. It also states that disaggregated information concerning the reasons for non-disclosure and partial disclosure was not maintained.
These missing figures are important. Knowing how many applications have been submitted tells only part of the story. An effective transparency system should also be capable of telling citizens how many requests were granted, partially granted or refused; how long authorities took to respond; which exemptions were invoked; how many appeals were decided; and whether decisions of information commissions were complied with.
The 2026 theme also requires us to reconsider access to information in light of artificial intelligence and digital technologies. Governments increasingly collect enormous amounts of digital data, while citizens increasingly obtain information through search engines, social media platforms, and AI-powered systems. This creates opportunities for faster access, proactive disclosure, searchable public records and more accessible government services. It also creates new risks. Incorrect official data can now be reproduced and distributed at enormous speed. AI systems may amplify unreliable information contained in their underlying sources. Digitization without proper record management can produce large quantities of data without necessarily producing meaningful public knowledge. At the same time, digitally excluded communities may find themselves unable to benefit equally from new information systems.
The response cannot be simply to produce more information. Public institutions must provide information that is accurate, current, understandable, accessible, and capable of verification. This explains why the 2026 UN agenda connects access to information with proactive disclosure, credible data, information literacy and technological improvements in public record keeping.
For Pakistan, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Digitization can make government information considerably easier to access, reduce the administrative burden of individual information requests and enable proactive publication of budgets, decisions, statistics, procurement information and institutional performance data. However, digital transparency requires common standards for record keeping, data quality, accessibility and timely updating.
Pakistan’s next stage of reform should consequently concentrate on moving from the existence of the right to the effectiveness of the right. Stronger implementation requires public institutions to maintain reliable statistics throughout the complete lifecycle of information requests. Information commissions should be able to report not merely the number of applications received, but their outcomes, response times, grounds for refusal, appeals, decisions and compliance with those decisions.
Proactive disclosure is equally important. Citizens should not always have to file formal applications for information that can reasonably be made public. Budgets, policies, rules, public contracts, institutional statistics, decisions and other information of public importance should increasingly be available through accessible digital platforms. This would simultaneously strengthen transparency and reduce the burden placed upon public information officers and information commissions.
The International Day for Universal Access to Information carries a message that extends beyond transparency legislation. The challenge of the digital age is no longer simply whether information exists or whether citizens can technically access it. Increasingly, the challenge is whether the information available to them is credible, timely and reliable.
Pakistan has already established important constitutional, legislative, and institutional foundations for access to information. Its SDG 16.10.2 assessment demonstrates both this progress and the remaining implementation gaps. The task ahead is to strengthen record keeping, improve the quality of official data, expand proactive disclosure, make implementation measurable, and ensure that citizens can effectively exercise the rights already recognized by law.
