May 15, 2026<\/p>\n
FILE VISUAL: ANWAR SOHEL<\/p>\n
Recently, Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, has welcomed constructive criticism from citizens regarding the government\u2019s performance. We take that invitation in the spirit in which it was offered\u2014not to criticise the government per se, but to reiterate the deep concern of many citizens over the troubling state of Bangladesh\u2019s Right to Information (RTI) regime and to urge swift corrective action.<\/p>\n
This decline began soon after the interim government assumed office in August 2024, when the three information commissioners vacated their positions amid political uncertainty. Their posts have remained unfilled ever since, severely impairing the effectiveness of one of the country\u2019s most important instruments of democratic accountability, the Information Commission. Repeated calls for timely appointments went unheeded, perhaps reflecting an unwillingness on the part of the interim authorities to submit themselves to the scrutiny the law was designed to ensure.<\/p>\n