People asked to access information through RTI law

PESHAWAR: A free flow of information is considered as a dream in countries governed by dictatorial and short-lived democratic regimes where the enactment of Right to Information Laws and its proper implementation provide citizens easy access to information about public records.

This was stated by Farah Hamid Khan, chief Information Commissioner, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while addressing the participants of the 93rd Pre-Services Course for Probationary Officers of the Provincial Management Services at Pakistan Provincial Services Academy on Tuesday.

She added that the KP Assembly adopted an RTI law in 2013 which was also an important first step for the government’s implementing Sustainable Development Goals target 16.10.2.Farah Hamid Khan said RTI law ensured people can access information held by government bodies, often requesting authorities to have specific public officials and working procedures in place.

She said, so far, RTI legislation had been adopted by 127 countries. The session aimed at sensitizing the participants to their responsibilities under the law.It also touched on various other relevant aspects such as the human rights dimension of the right to information,and the Islamic perspective of access to information.The chief commissioner focused on the practical aspects of access to information.