Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (PILAP) (https://pilap.pk) is a non-profit, apolitical, and premier association on “Public Interest” in Pakistan, established in 2011 under the Societies Act 1860. PILAP was founded by a group of concerned citizens with the primary objective of enabling Pakistanis to attain the realization of their civil, human, economic, social and political rights. It is an independent, non-political, and not-for-profit legal organization that is dedicated to protecting and defending the fundamental rights of all Pakistanis through judicial means, across the country. Under the vision “A Pakistan where fundamental rights are enjoyed by all”, PILAP conducts its public interest work through means of research, advocacy, and litigation.

PILAP is funded by our members through an annual fees and donations from these members and various organizations. PILAP seeks to provide effective judicial protection to members of the civil society of Pakistan and endeavors to improve government accountability and transparency. To accomplish this, PILAP first engages in detailed research on a public interest issue, then works on advocacy through filing Right to Information (RTI) requests and lastly pursues the litigation front.

PILAP has worked hard to continuously improve the process of transparency and accountability of government institutions as well as for the protection and enforcement of fundamental rights of the citizens. The following are some of the organizational achievements for which we are particularly proud of:

1. River Ravi Commission: Discharge of untreated sewage and waste in River Ravi. The LHC has order the commission to oversee progress and set up Bioremediation plants to treat water before getting into river
2. Right to Education in Sindh: Out-Of-School Children and how to improve enrolment. (Article 25A right to free and fair education) UNICEF and SELD- Government of Sindh hosted consultative sessions to implement policies on educational reforms.
3. Police Reforms: Challenged Sindh provincial amendments to curtail the independence and autonomy of the police force
4. Protection of National Heritage (Lloyds Bank Building, Karachi): SHC granted stay to high rise building at a heritage site
5. CDA (MCI) to provide protective gear for the workers: Show cause notice to Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad/CDA to provide protective equipment and inform petitioner.
6. Pakistan Census processes by NADRA/PBS: PBS provided details of census processes and validation of the census quality

Other than public interest litigation, PILAP files numerous RTI requests every year. The main criterion for selection of topics is that they concern issues of ‘public interest’. Often RTIs are selected based on PILAP’s partnerships with NGOs e.g. the Malir Expressway RTI was proposed by concerned citizen Arif Belgaumi and Climate Action Pakistan; whereas the Gujjar Nallah RTI was proposed by Karachi Bachao Tehreek to assist their advocacy efforts. Other times issues are selected based on trending news e.g. DHA Storm Water Drains project details sought in aftermath of urban flooding; Kirthar National Park RTI filed in light of reports of encroachment on public lands etc. Public interest can be captured by taking advantage of trending current affairs. PILAP has gradually been building a greater profile and visibility (on social media especially) for its pursuit of prominent RTI cases (e.g. DHA budget, Toshakhana, Malik Riaz-NCA settlement etc.).

Forthcoming, in process initiatives as voted by CA members:

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