It was expected that provincial right to information law, first promulgated as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Ordinance 2013 on August 17, 2013 and later turned into an Act of provincial assembly on October 31, 2013 will usher in a new era of transparent functioning of provincial public bodies.

However, a recent research conducted by Coalition on Right to Information, (CRTI) shows that public officials do not respond to information requests filed under right to information law of the province and transparent functioning of government departments in the province still remains a pipe dream.

Spokesmen for their respective organisations said on Saturday that Centre for Governance and Public Accountability, (CGPA) and Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, (CPDI) filed information requests under KP RTI Ordinance 2013 to District Headquarter Hospitals and deputy commissioners of the province seeking information about medical equipment in the hospital and access to certified copies of the log-books of official vehicles under the use of Deputy Commissioners respectively. Out of total 50 information requests filed under KP Ordinance, information was provided in the case of only seven requests. None of the Deputy Commissioners provided the requested information within the time period of 10 working days as stipulated under KP Right to Information Ordinance 2013.

CRTI and CPDI urges the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to establish independent and autonomous information commission as envisaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013.
The News