Vice Chancellor Air University has been summoned by the Pakistan Information Commission on October 18 along with the case record.

In its summon, the commission has directed the VC to appear before it himself or through his designated officer to represent his department during the hearing.

The VC has been warned of an ex-parte decision if he doesn’t appear before the Commission, adding that “the responsible will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act.”

Furthermore, he has also been directed to produce two attested copies of the case report before the Information Commission.

The summon was issued after Air University failed to provide the requested information to a citizen under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017.

“Regrettably, despite several follow-ups and lapse of time period (more than 24 working days), the requested information was not provided yet,” he stated.

The Pakistan Information Commission examined the complaint and evidence and fixed the regular hearing on October 18 at 11:30 AM.

It should be noted that all public bodies at the federal level are obligated to provide the requested information to citizens of Pakistan within ten working days. The Commission is empowered to exercise the powers of a civil court to issue summons for witnesses or records.

Additionally, the commission has the authority to impose fines and award jail sentence of up to two years to a guilty individual. It is pertinent to mention that as per the law, the destruction of any official record is also a punishable offense.

Source: Pro Pakistani