‘RTI aimed at bringing transparency’

PESHAWAR: The speakers at a seminar termed the Right to Information (RTI) law and other rights-based legal instruments as a major step of the government to achieve the goal of good governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said the government through the RTI law and Right to Information Commission (RTIC) should take strides to bring about transparency to the working of the government departments, public sector institutions and other public bodies.

Addressing the awareness seminar organised by the RTIC at Chughalpura for local councillors of the National Assembly constituency NA-9, chief commissioner RTCI, Azmat Hanif Orakazi said the RTI and Right To Public Services (RTS) laws aimed at ensuring right to know and right to public services to the masses which had already enshrined in the Constitution of the country.

He said the inalienable right of the masses to know about the public affairs affecting their day-to-day life had been secured in the Article 19 (A) of the Constitution and the RTI provides the mechanism to ensure this right.

The RTIC commissioner said the commission had embarked upon an awareness campaign across the province to educate masses on the RTI law and its operation at various levels in terms of retrieving information from the public bodies and individuals.

Members of the district, Town-II, village and union council (UC), students and elders of village Chughalpura and suburbs of the city attended the seminar. Azmat Hanif also urged the people to file requests under RTI so that those in the helm of affairs could be made accountable.

Dr Shaukat Ali, senior vice-president Town-II, also spoke on the occasion and stressed the need for awareness about the RTI so that people could be educated on the law.

Commissioner RTS commission, Shah Saib, district member Amirzeb Khan, Nazim Village Chughalpura Adnan Awan and Union Council Chughalpura Nazim Murad Gul also spoke on the occasion.