Pakistan’s New Leadership of the Open Government Movement in South Asia

At a time when global civic space seems to be closing and governments are moving away from transparency, Pakistan may be pushing in the other direction. In late November, ahead of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit that begins in Paris today, the government sent a formal letter of intent to be a part of OGP. Pakistan has been eligible for OGP for over two years- but this was nonetheless a huge and timely step forward for the government, civil society and most importantly- the Pakistani people. It provides a fantastic opportunity for civil society organizations that have been pushing for this move- including Accountability Lab Pakistan, Center for International Private Enterprise, the Open Society Foundation and PRIME, among others- to work collaboratively with the administration to improve transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and accountability. And it is an important signal- at this turbulent time in global politics- that we can deepen democracy and citizen engagement.

The OGP process takes many different forms, depending on context, and it is important that the various stakeholders in the process understand the commitments, roles and relationships. It is clear that while Pakistan’s recent announcement is welcome, the community within civil society in Pakistan that understands what OGP can do, and how it works, is still very small. With this in mind, last week Accountability Lab Pakistan convened a group of civil society organizations, media, academics, technology experts and development partners to discuss the way forward with the OGP. We wanted to understand how we collectively could engage with the government around this framework; the process for developing a first National Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen...; and how best to make sure that the OGP process leads to real changes in people’s lives.  

Pakistan has some unique characteristics which provide both challenges and opportunities around the open governance agenda. For example, it is a huge country- and the 18th amendment to its constitution devolved many administrative and constitutional powers to the provinces. In some ways, this will make the national consultation and implementation process difficult and varied, as it will be very difficult to reach consensus; in another, it provides huge potential for exciting engagement through OGP’s sub-nationalRecognizing that much of what impacts people’s daily lives occurs at the local level, many OGP countries are working to open up lower levels of government by creating commitments focused on subnatio... program in a province like Punjab, for example.  

We have, in some ways, made incredible progress in terms of openness- the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have very strong Right to InformationThe legal right to request information from the government allows the public to follow government decision-making, participate in ensuring better decisions, and hold the government accountable. Techni... laws and have clearly demonstrated government responsiveness to citizens on budgetary and public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... issues, for example. At the same time, other provinces continue to protect government data, curtail media activity and restrict citizen engagement around issues of accountability. Indeed, where data is available nationally, this supply “does not create its own demand” as one participant put it, and operationalizing the OGP in Pakistan will need to be as much about civil society organizing and coordinating as the government pushing through further reforms.    

Transparency does not always lead to accountability, of course, and there was a clear focus during the discussion on how Pakistan can use the OGP to move beyond both openness and government. To use data more effectively, our group discussed how to create community around the commitments to ensure political will can be fully mobilized to ensure transparency leads to accountability. We discussed the creative roles infomediaries can play in making data understandable for citizens; and the ways in which we can work with reformers within government at the national and sub-national levels to bolster and sustain openness reforms. At the same time, using OGP to fight corruption is also essential, given Pakistan’s prominent role in the Panama Papers leak recently- a more technical focus on issues like open contractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... and beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... will be essential.    

But the meeting also highlighted how far we have to go in finding common ground on OGP. While the government has signed up, civil society in Pakistan has to move quickly to ensure a collective approach to this opportunity. We must work to build a shared understanding of the process, and make sure we are in touch with our counterparts elsewhere who have worked through this process successfully. In South Asia, the Sri Lankan experience might yield important ideas; and within the larger region, Indonesia- as a large, diverse Muslim country- may provide further guidance. But we need to know in a more granular way where and how commitments have moved forwards and how the process of reform was sustained over time.  

At Accountability Lab Pakistan, we and our partners are committed to working in constructive ways with the government to support openness and transparency that can improve the lives of the Pakistani people. We are a diverse country, with many varied voices, ideas and identities. The OGP process provides an important opportunity to bring all of us to the process of governance, and make Pakistan a stronger country as a result. Following the OGP meetings in Paris this week, we will convene a series of round-tables with groups from across Pakistan’s geographies, sectors and constituencies- with a view to developing the commitments which we will co-create with government in the coming months. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed.