The News International: Islamabad:
Thursday, May 05, 2016.
Right
to Information (RTI) Law can play a pivotal role in ensuring transparency and
accountability at all levels, said the speakers while addressing a seminar
organised on Wednesday to commemorate World Press Freedom Day.
Organised
by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) in collaboration with
Preston University, the seminar titled ‘Using Right to Information Law for
Investigative Reporting in Pakistan’ was attended by a large number of students
who interacted extensively with the speakers asking them question related to
role of media in current situation. They had many queries and complaints to
make with regard to media conduct.
Information
Commissioner from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Abdul Mateen talked about the
experience of KP in implementation of RTI law. He said that the commission is
accepting complaints against all organisation performing public functions be it
private or public. He said that the law has 89 per cent success rate and people
have asked for all kind of information from the public offices. “People have
asked questions about the cost of helicopter travel of chief minister and data
on petrol expenditure of deputy commissioners. There was resistance from
relevant departments in start but at the end, they abide the law on our
insistence,” said Mateen.
Mateen
stressed the need to create more awareness about the law among the general
public so that the true benefit of the legislation can reach the grassroots
level. “I accept the fact that awareness about the law is very low especially
in rural areas,” he said.
SSDO
Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas said that RTI law has brought quiet
effective mechanism to get the inside stories for research based journalism in
Pakistan. “Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 and
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013 has immense potential to be
used as a tool for investigative reporting.”
He
said that with the enactment of this law, journalists in Punjab and KP have the
legislative framework under which they can access the certified information
from public bodies. He also introduced the campaign titled ‘Jawab Dahi Mera Haq
Hay’ to the students urging them to hold the public offices accountable by
using their right to information guaranteed in the RTI law.
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