Never was the concept of information so shamelessly brutalised as in Sharif's second tenure. Over two decades of gross misuse of information have earned us yet another government which promises to take people into confidence. The suave and articulate information minister boldly claims, as he did while serving Bhutto over a decade ago, that his government has nothing to hide. In fact, he started off by promising to abolish the information ministry altogether. But just as nothing changed during his first stint as only one example of the present regime's attitude towards information.
Truth be damned-what is important to remember is that information is sacrosanct.
If that means keeping 140 million people ignorant about one of the more important chapters in Pakistan's history, so be it. Ali Zia, Bhutto and Sharif earned from hiding the truth was an ultimately self-destructive and warped vision of reality. General Musharraf, if he has any sense, ought to learn from history. Open access to information is the only way a real culture of responsibility and accountability can come about. At the end of the day, the difference between hiding the truth and telling lies is only academic.