November
26: A one-day training session for Public Information Officers
(PIOs) appointed under the Punjab Transparency and Right to
Information Act 2013 was held by the Punjab Information Commission
(PIC) in Lahore.
The training
was attended by a diverse group of 20 PIOs representing the
Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health, Planning and
Development, Police, Population Welfare, Public Prosecution,
Sports and Town Planning from the districts of Layyah, Lahore,
Multan, Muzzaffargarh and Rajanpur. PIOs from offices of Tehsil
Municipal Administration in Multan were also present.
The training
session was developed and organized in collaboration with PILDAT
to sensitize PIOs on the Effective Use of the Punjab
Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013. The
session included an in-depth overview of What is RTI and
Why it is Important, which wasled by Mr. Mukhtar
Ahmad Ali, Information Commissioner, PIC. Mr.
Ahmad Mubarak, former Police Service Pakistan Officer,
briefed the participants on Responsibilities of Public Information
Officers under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information
Act, 2013. The training ended with a group simulation exercise
in which participants enacted the roles of Public Information
Officers and Information Seekers in scenarios designed to test
their knowledge of the Act.
Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad
Ali drew extensively on examples highlighting the importance
of RTI within both Islamic and Western history, and drew the
basis of this fundamental right from both Islamic and Western
canon. “RTI is no longer the sole domain of developed
countries,” he said. “Various developing countries
like India and Bangladesh have successfully modernized their
governance systems through enactment of RTI”.
Mr. Ahmad Mubarak
apprised participants about their responsibilities and powers
under Punjab’s RTI law. “PIOs are the first point
of contact with the public in the overall system of information
disclosure under the PIC,” he explained. “The law
empowers them to decide on matters of information disclosure
according to the provisions of RTI law, regardless of the personal
wishes of superior officers within their assigned offices or
coordinating Ministries.”
Inaugurating
the Training Session, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President, PILDAT,
commended the PIC for its role in leading the way on RTI within
Pakistan. Mr. Mazhar Hussain Minhas, Chief Information Commissioner,
appreciated the participants’ enthusiasm and encouraged
them to implement what they had learnt during the training within
their respective government departments.
The Training
of Public Information Officers (PIOs) on the Effective Use Punjab
Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 was facilitated
by PILDAT under the More effective Right-To-Information (RTI)
at Federal and Provincial level (Sindh and Punjab) Project,
for which PILDAT has received financial support from Development
Alternative Inc. (DAI) under the Enhanced Democratic Accountability
and Civic Engagement (EDACE) Project.
For Further
Information:
Mr. Ahmad Shah Durrani, Assistant Projects Officer,
PILDAT
Email:
ahmad.durrani@pildat.org
Phone:
051 111 123 345 Ext: 107
Mobile:
+92 334 672 5475
Twitter:
@Pildat @KnowMyGovPK
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PILDAT
https://www.facebook.com/KnowMyGovPK
Website: https://www.pildat.org/