Workshop on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013
Workshop on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013
District Malakand
Date: 24 August 2023
Transparency International Pakistan in collaboration with the Rural Development Organization (RDO) organized a one-day workshop in the Malakand District, focusing on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013. The event had a diverse group of attendees, including people from civil society groups, public information officers, activists, teachers, students, and concerned citizens from Malakand and nearby areas. A total of 37 people took part in the training, with 16 women and 21 men. Mr. Ashfaque Ahmed, Project Coordinator Transparency International Pakistan conducted the training.
The session began at 10:30 AM with participant registration and the recitation of the Holy Quran. Mr. Gul Wahid from the Rural Development Organization welcomed everyone. Following that, Mr. Ashfaque Ahmed first introduced Transparency International Pakistan and its projects, and then provided detailed training on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013. He explained that this law is a way for people to hold the government accountable, and it was enacted after 18th amendment of the Constitution. The law allows individuals to access public information, but with some reasonable restrictions. During the session, participants learned about key terms such as “applicant,” “public bodies,” “information,” and “information commission.” The law allows people to request various types of information from government bodies, such as:
- The number of teachers in primary schools in a district.
- The budgets for education, health, and development in the district.
- Merit lists for job openings.
- The number of employees in a department and their salaries.
- How much public money has been given to a department.
Mr. Ashfaque explained the process for submitting an RTI application, as well as the role and responsibilities of the Information Commission and how it handles complaints.
Mian Hazrat Shah, the Public Information Officer from the Social Welfare Department, explained how they process RTI applications and pointed out common mistakes that lead to the rejection of many complaints.
After the training session, participants had the opportunity to ask questions, and all their queries were answered satisfactorily. In the end, participants practiced writing RTI applications and committed to seek more information from various organizations. Towards the end, participants expressed their gratitude to Transparency International Pakistan for organizing the program in Malakand.
