OKARA: The Punjab Information Commission (PIC) on Thursday established a Right to Information (RTI) Centre at Okara.
The center, located in the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, is designed to facilitate citizens in accessing information from provincial public bodies in Okara. This is in addition to centers that have already been established in Faisalabad and Nankana.
Punjab Information Commission’s Chief Information Commissioner, Mehboob Qadir Shah, inaugurated the center. While speaking to the media and government officials, Shah emphasized the importance of transparency in government departments and said that the Right to Information Act will help to move affairs forward in a transparent manner.
He also stressed that citizens have the right to information and that government departments are obliged to provide it within 14 days.
Shah added that the RTI centers will serve as a bridge between government institutions in each district and the Information Commission, and will ensure the implementation of access to information laws in government institutions in their respective districts.
Shah also stated that RTI centers will be established in all districts of the province and that meetings of public information officers in the district should be held on a monthly basis.
Journalist Sadia Mazhar, who is also a recipient of the RTI Champion Award, spoke about the role of access to information laws in preventing corruption and promoting transparency in government institutions.
She urged citizens to use the laws regularly to obtain information of public interest, and highlighted that journalists can use the laws for investigative journalism.
Punjab Information Commission Director of Awareness and Training, Nauman Nazir, also informed participants about the benefits of the laws and the procedure for their use.
