Govt officers, journalists hold dialogue on Right to Information

GHALLANAI: The government officers in Mohmand Agency and local journalists held a dialogue here Monday on the Right to Information (RTI) law and discussed how it could be used to improve governance and benefit the masses.

Mohmand Agency’s Political Agent Mahmood Aslam Wazir, Additional Political Agent Hameedur Rahman and officers from every line department took part in the lively dialogue.

The Political Agent said though RTI hasn’t been introduced in Fata yet, but his doors were open to anyone seeking information about development projects and working of the political administration. He said a complaint cell had also been established a month ago to enable the people to pinpoint shortcomings and help improve governance.

The local journalists led by Said Badshah, president of the Mohmand Press Club were also part of the dialogue.

Senior journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai was the moderator for the dialogue. He was assisted by Peshawar-based journalist Gohar Ali. Syed Saadat Jehan of the RTI Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also made a presentation at the session.

Tribal elders from Mohmand Agency joined the second session of the dialogue and highlighted issues concerning their lives.

It was pointed out during the dialogue that the RTI law has introduced transparency in the affairs of the state in the developed world.

Speakers said that RTI law had been implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab while the federal government was moving the bill in the National Assembly after getting it passed by the Senate.

It was added that the RTI law could be implemented in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) once after the National Assembly passed the bill and it became the law and Fata’s future is decided.

The participants said that tribespeople should be educated about the RTI laws that would empower them to seek information on the development schemes and other government activities in their area.

They noted that journalists were benefiting the most from the RTI law by asking questions to seek information from government departments and 20 percent of all the applicants were journalists.