September 30: A one-day training session for Public Information Officers (PIOs) appointed under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, by the Punjab Information Commission (PIC) was held today in Lahore.

The training session was developed and organized by the PIC in collaboration with PILDAT to sensitize the 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 and The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, both of which wereled by Mr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ali, Information Commissioner, PIC. Mr. Ahmad Mubarak, former Police Service Pakistan Officer, briefed the participants on the  Responsibilities of Public Information Officers. The training ended with a group activity in which participants discussed landmark orders passed by the PIC between 2014-2015, under the overall guidance of the above-mentioned trainers and Mr. Mazhar Hussain Minhas, Chief Information Commissioner, PIC.

In the first session, 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. He urged PIOs to dismiss the notion that RTI law was solely the domain of developed countries, as through it various developing countries like India and Bangladesh had also successfully modernized their governance systems. He urged participants to shoulder their additional responsibilities as PIOs in the interest of modernizing the governance system in Pakistan.   

He also provided an in-depth overview of the provisions of the Punjab RTI law, and engaged them in a lively discussion on the finer points of its language. The ensuing discussion touched upon various issues of importance, including: the comprehensive definition of information and public bodies within the law; proactive disclosure and annual reporting requirements that must be fulfilled by PIOs; the powers and functions of the PIC; and the open-ended processes by which the public could request the information held by government.

Following this session, Mr. Ahmad Mubarak apprised participants about their responsibilities and authority under Punjab’s RTI law. The Public Information Officers is the first point of contact with the public in the overall system of information disclosure being overseen by the PIC, and, in this regard they have been empowered 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. He also explained in detail the duties of PIOs in assisting information requesters and in upholding the letter and spirit of the law within their assigned departments.

To sum up the entire session’s learning, participants were divided into groups to discuss and present the various Orders on Complaints passed by the PIC since its inception. This led to insightful dialogue between participants and officials of the PIC presiding over the group activity.

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President, PILDAT, commended the PIC for its role in leading the way on RTI within Pakistan. He also remarked how necessary such trainings were in producing a culture within government conducive to the smooth and consistent implementation of RTI. Mr. Mazhar Hussain Minhas, Chief Information Commissioner, appreciated the participants’ enthusiasm and encouraged them to take the knowledge they had gained in the training to their respective government departments and push for the appointment of PIOs and the effective implementation of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act., 2013.

The Training was attended by a diverse group of PIOs representing the Departments of Education, Law and Justice, Information and Culture, Social Welfare Town Planning, Labour, and Planning and Development from the districts of Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Muzzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Sahiwal. PIOs from district offices of Technical Education and Vocational Training Agency (TEVTA) and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) were also in attendance. Mr. Mazhar Hussain Minhas, Chief Information Commissioner, PIC awarded Certificates of completion to the participants.

The Training of Public Information Officers (PIOs) on the Effective Use Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 was organized by Punjab Information Commission in collaboration with 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.