1. Core principle
Accuracy, traceability and clarity take priority over being first. If a fact cannot be supported by appropriate evidence, we prefer to label it unknown, unconfirmed or under review rather than fill the gap with an assumption.
2. Source hierarchy
- Primary official sources: programme portals, government departments, official notifications, circulars, gazettes, official tender or programme documents, and first-party press releases.
- Official public statements: verified statements from responsible authorities that can be connected to the programme.
- Secondary reporting: reputable news or institutional reporting used mainly for discovery, context or cross-checking, not as a substitute for official evidence when critical official facts are available.
- Social media and community reports: useful as leads, but not sufficient on their own for critical eligibility, payment, deadline or application-route claims.
3. Separate status dimensions
PakRelief does not treat “the programme exists” as “applications are open.” We track programme status, application status and information status separately where the content model allows. A procurement notice, budget announcement or political statement is not automatically evidence that citizens can currently apply.
4. Dates, amounts and eligibility
Opening dates, deadlines, benefit amounts, quotas, age limits, income thresholds, required documents and application methods should be published only when supported by suitable evidence. Unknown dates remain empty or explicitly unconfirmed; we do not invent a likely deadline based on a previous cycle.
5. Scheme cycles and phases
When a programme has multiple phases, rounds, years or application windows, new information should be associated with the correct cycle rather than silently replacing historical facts in a way that can mislead users.
6. Automation, scraping and AI
Automated monitoring can identify new official pages or changes and may store source documents for review. Scraped material is treated as untrusted input until reviewed. AI-assisted tools may help summarize, translate, structure or compare information, but they do not independently establish that an eligibility rule, date, amount or application status is true.
7. Language and translations
PakRelief publishes in English and Urdu. Translations aim to preserve the meaning of the underlying evidence. Where a translated explanation conflicts with the original official source, the official source controls.
8. Official application links
Where an official application route is verified, PakRelief links users to that destination. We avoid presenting internal PakRelief forms as government application forms. Contact and correction forms on PakRelief are for communication about this website, not for applying to public programmes.
9. Reviews and updates
Records may be reviewed when an official source changes, a correction is submitted, a new phase is announced or monitoring identifies a possible update. “Last fetched” is not the same as “last verified”; verification reflects an editorial check, not merely a successful download.
10. Conflicts and uncertainty
If reliable official sources conflict, we may mark the information as conflicting and explain the issue rather than choosing a convenient interpretation without support.