Urging the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to restore momentum on transparency, accountability, and media safety, journalists, lawmakers, and civil society leaders came together in Peshawar on October 18, to call for the immediate appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner, reforms to strengthen the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and swift passage of the long-pending journalists’ protection bill— similar to law already enacted at the federal level and provincial level in Sindh. The appeal was made during a one-day workshop and dialogue on Right to Information and Media Safety, organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), which brought together media professionals, members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (MPAs), lawyers, and rights activists from across the province.
The workshop aimed to equip journalists with practical knowledge of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013, empowering them to use it as a tool for accountability, good governance, and press freedom. Trainer and former RTI Commissioner Riaz Khan Dawoodzai led an extensive training session, describing the RTI as a “sunshine law” that transforms hidden government records into public knowledge. He traced the historical and global evolution of access-to-information laws, explained the constitutional foundation of Article 19-A, and detailed the processes of filing requests, appeals, and complaints under the KP RTI Act.
Dawoodzai stressed that “wherever a single rupee of public money is spent, citizens have the right to ask questions.” He highlighted RTI as a key pillar of transparency, merit, and anti-corruption, empowering citizens and journalists alike to hold public institutions accountable. Through interactive exercises, participants practiced drafting RTI requests, understanding exemptions, and identifying the proactive disclosure obligations of public bodies. Journalists described the training as highly practical and said it gave them the confidence to pursue data-driven and investigative stories with legal backing.
The session also revealed a strong desire among participants to extend awareness of RTI beyond the newsroom. Many argued that empowering citizens to use the law is essential for building a culture of public accountability and participatory governance. “This training made us realize that RTI is not just for journalists—it’s a citizens’ right that can change how government works,” one participant noted.
The dialogue session transformed the workshop’s technical learning into a platform for collective advocacy. Speakers from across the political and media landscape emphasized that while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s RTI law remains one of the most progressive in the world, its implementation has slowed due to administrative neglect and weak institutional support. MPA Shazia Tehmas said the current era of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) demands that “citizens and journalists alike must be trained to use information laws effectively,” but lamented that public awareness remains limited. Former MPA Nighat Orakzai recalled that she was the first woman legislator to introduce a journalist protection resolution in the KP Assembly, but regretted that “successive governments failed to pass the bill into law.”
Kashifuddin Syed, President of the Khyber Union of Journalists, criticized the government’s inaction, noting that the Chief Information Commissioner’s position has been vacant for months and that the Commission’s budget has not been revised for over a decade. “Without leadership and resources, the law cannot function as intended,” he said. Advocate Mauzam Butt of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stressed that Article 19-A of the Constitution guarantees every citizen’s right to know, adding that “we must enforce this law robustly so every journalist and citizen can speak truth safely.”
Arif Yousaf, former Law Advisor of PTI and MPA who oversaw the drafting of the KP RTI Act, noted that it was modeled on international best practices and reflected PTI’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Speakers and participants agreed on an urgent set of recommendations. They called for the immediate appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner and an increase in the budget of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission (KPIC) to ensure it can fulfill its mandate. They urged that RTI implementation be expanded to district levels with greater inclusion of women, and that public bodies be compelled to proactively disclose information. Participants further demanded enhanced penalties for delays or denial of information, legal amendments to close procedural gaps, and the swift passage of the journalists’ protection bill, aligning Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the legal protections already in force at the federal and Sindh provincial levels. Many also emphasized that regular RTI and data journalism training sessions should be organized to help journalists leverage digital and AI-based tools in investigative reporting.
The day ended on a hopeful note as participants pledged to use their newfound skills to promote transparency, accountability, and safe journalism across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
