KP government responds to PFF's requests

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 18 March 2014

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has addressed 14 RTI requests from the Pakistan Press Foundation regarding the status of journalists' murder cases. The government advised that such inquiries should be directed to the public information officer of the police department.

Summary

KARACHI: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday responded to 14 Right to Information (RTI) requests by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) seeking progress on journalists’ murder cases.

According to a letter received by PPF, the KP government said the requests were forwarded to provincial police officer Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide the relevant information but no response had been received yet.

It said that after promulgation of the ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013’, each department has notified and nominated its own public information officer; therefore, the requests should be directly sent to PIO Police Department in order to cut short the process.

It is pertinent to mention here that PPF has filed 60 Right to Information (RTI) requests to know about the progress and status of cases of journalists murdered in Pakistan in the line of duty between 2002-2013.

According to Secretary General PPF Owais Aslam Ali, nine requests were sent to Interior Ministry under Freedom of Information Ordinance-2002, another 15 to Home Department, Government of Sindh under the Sindh Freedom of Information Act 2006, four requests to Home Department, Government of Punjab under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, 14 requests to Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013, and 18 requests were sent to Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Government of Balochistan under the Balochistan Freedom of Information Act 2005. - PPI

KEY POINTS:

• KP government responds to PFF's RTI requests on journalists' murder cases.
• Requests were forwarded to the provincial police officer for information.
• No response has been received from the police as of yet.
• PPF has filed a total of 60 RTI requests on this issue since 2002.
• Specific requests were directed to multiple provincial departments for transparency.