How to Appeal to the Pakistan Information Commission When a Federal Office Refuses Your RTI Request
Appeal to the Pakistan Information Commission within 30 days if a federal office refuses or ignores your RTI request. It is free, on plain paper. Start here.
Short answer: If a federal office refused, ignored or half answered your information request, appeal to the Pakistan Information Commission within 30 days. The appeal is free and can go on plain paper. The Act asks the Commission to decide it within 60 days. The Commission lists appeals@rti.gov.pk and 051-9261014 on its website.
A request for a record that gets no reply is not the end. Federal offices have to answer within a fixed time, and when they do not, the law gives you a free appeal. Most people never use it because they do not know the 30 day clock exists.
We downloaded the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017 and the Right of Access to Information Rules, 2019 from the Pakistan Information Commission's website and read the appeal sections. We also read its home page for contact details. We did not file an appeal ourselves, so we cannot describe how a case moves after it is received.
The Commission hears appeals against federal public bodies
The Pakistan Information Commission is the body set up under the 2017 Act to receive and decide appeals from people refused information by federal public bodies. Provincial offices fall under provincial information laws, so a federal appeal is the wrong route for a provincial office.
The Act covers federal ministries, divisions and other federal public bodies. For a Punjab office, use our page on the Right to Information request in Punjab. The federal request process itself, from the 10 working day answer to the form of the request, is in our page on the federal right to information request.
You can appeal in three situations
You may appeal when you are not satisfied with the designated official's decision, or when no decision reached you within the time fixed. Rule 8 of the 2019 Rules lists the grounds: failure to follow the Act including late decisions, incomplete or false information, or any other access matter.
| Your situation | Can you appeal? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| No reply within 10 working days, or 20 if extended | Yes | Section 17(1): no decision within the time fixed |
| Request refused | Yes | Section 17(1): not satisfied with the decision |
| Partial, incomplete or misleading answer | Yes | Rule 8(1)(b) |
| Office says it does not hold the record | Ask first; then appeal if you doubt it | Section 12 requires it to tell you within 10 working days |
| You already went to court on the same matter | Be careful | Rule 8(2) asks you to certify no other forum is pending |
The 30 day clock starts at the decision or the missed deadline
Section 17(1) gives you a period not exceeding thirty days after either receiving a decision, or after the time limit for a decision has passed. Count from the day you received the refusal, or from the day the 10 or 20 working days ended without an answer.
Under section 14, a federal body must answer as soon as possible and within ten working days. It can take up to ten more working days if the search covers many records or other offices. Information needed to protect life and liberty must come within three working days.
Keep the proof of your request date. A stamped copy, a courier receipt or a sent email is enough to show when the clock started.
How to file the appeal step by step
Write your appeal on plain paper or on the Commission's sample format. Give the facts, your contact details, any evidence you hold and a certificate that you have not filed the same matter before another forum or court. Send it to the Commission.
- Collect your original request, proof you sent it, and any refusal or reply.
- Write the appeal: who you asked, what you asked for, the date, and what went wrong.
- Add the certificate that you have not filed an application, complaint or suit before any other forum or court on this matter.
- Add your name, address, phone number and email.
- Send it to the Commission and keep a copy with proof of sending.
- Wait for the Commission to seek comments from the designated officer, and answer if it asks you for more.
Rule 8(4) says you need not give any information or document other than the alleged facts, your contact details, any evidence you have and the certificate. You do not have to explain why you want the information. Rule 8(3) says the Commission charges no fee for filing or processing the appeal.
What the Commission can do and what to expect
The Act says the public body bears the burden of showing it acted within the Act, and the Commission must decide within sixty days. It can order disclosure and fine an official who wilfully obstructs access. The Commission seeks comments from the officer before it decides.
| Step or power | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Fee | None; the appeal is free of charge (section 17(2)) |
| Decision time | Within sixty days (section 17(3)) |
| Burden of proof | On the public body (section 17(4)) |
| Orders | Disclosure, or other measures to fix a failure (section 20) |
| Penalty on an official | A fine equal to one day's salary, up to a maximum of one hundred days, for wilful obstruction (section 20) |
Section 20(2) says that if a decision of the Commission is not complied with and has not been appealed within thirty days, it can be dealt with in the same way as contempt of court. An order of the Commission is therefore not just advice.
If your problem is bad service by an office rather than a refused record, the Wafaqi Mohtasib may be the better door, as the Wafaqi Mohtasib complaint route shows.
The sixty day period is the Act's target, not a promise about each case. We could not check how long appeals take in practice.
Common questions
How long do I have to appeal to the Pakistan Information Commission?
Thirty days, counted from the decision or from the day the time limit for a decision passed, under section 17(1) of the Act.
Does the appeal cost anything?
No. Section 17(2) of the Act and rule 8(3) of the 2019 Rules both say the appeal is free of charge.
Do I need a lawyer?
No. Rule 8(2) allows an appeal on plain paper or on a simplified sample format.
Can I appeal if a federal office says it does not hold the record?
Section 12 requires the office to tell you within ten working days. If you have reason to think the record exists, say so in your appeal and attach what you have.
Where do I send the appeal?
The Commission's website lists appeals@rti.gov.pk and the phone number 051-9261014, with office hours Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on Sunday 11 October 2026. We read the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017 as printed in the Gazette of Pakistan and the Right of Access to Information Rules, 2019, both on the Pakistan Information Commission's website. The Gazette copy is a scan, so a few section numbers were read from imperfect text. A separate Commission regulations file on the site is an image and we could not read it.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
