Wafaqi Mohtasib Playing Leading Role Internationally In Realizing Ombudsmanship Goals: Ejaz Qureshi

Wafaqi Mohtasib Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi on Wednesday said the Wafaqi Mohtasib institution was playing a leading role among the international fraternity in realizing the ombudsmanship goals of rule of law and good governance

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Sep, 2023 ) :Wafaqi Mohtasib Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi on Wednesday said the Wafaqi Mohtasib institution was playing a leading role among the international fraternity in realizing the ombudsmanship goals of rule of law and good governance.

It was evident from the trust reposed by the 47 members of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) in the institution by re- electing the Federal Ombudsman as AOA President during the General Assembly moot held at Kazan, Tatarstan, on September 11, he said while addressing a conference.

The unopposed re-election, he said, "is a clear manifestation of the fact that the services of Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan in carrying forward the ultimate goals of ombudsmanship i.e good governance, fair play, administrative justice and rule of law were fully recognized by the international community." Ejaz Qureshi thanked the AOA General Assembly for expressing confidence in Pakistan's contribution in promoting the cause of ombudsmanship in Asia and beyond.

Prior to Kazan moot, he said, a meeting of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) was held in Bangkok (Thailand) on July 11, which was actively participated by Pakistan.

He said the Asian Ombudsman Association, established following the First Asian Ombudsman Conference held on April15-16, 1996 at Islamabad, was a major non-political, independent and professional body of international character representing more than two thirds of the world population.

With its current membership of 47 ombudsman institutions of the Asian Region, the Association's permanent secretariat is hosted by the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat at Islamabad, he added.

Highlighting the performance of Wafaqi Mohtasib institution, Ejaz Qureshi said some 133,000 complaints had been registered till September 15 and 132,000 of them had been resolved, which reflected the people's trust in the institution.

He said over 1.9 million households had benefited from the services of the institution since its inception, with a financial impact of Rs 3.1 billion.

Last year the resolution of complaints rose to all time high figure of 164,137, while the projected figure of complaints registration during the current year was around 185,000, he added.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib said to cater for the marginalised component of the society, the Wafaqi Mohtasib officers held open courts (Khulli Katchehries ) under the Outreach Complaint Resolution System( OCR) at sub-division and Tehsil level in far flung areas so that the justice could be imparted at their doorsteps.

Furthermore, he said, a new initiative of Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) had been started, which was receiving acceptance among the complainants as "it does not require formal docketing of the complaint or issuing of notices".

Under this programme, he added, some 2,379 complaints had been resolved so far through mediation and conciliation.

He said for about nine million overseas Pakistanis, who contributed to the national economy, a Grievance Commissioner had been appointed and at all the international airports of the country, the complaints of expatriates were being resolved through One Window Facilitation Desks.

'During this year, about 121,545 complaints of the overseas Pakistanis have been handled by Grievances Commissioner Cell of Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat," he added.

Ejaz Qureshi said the ombudsmanship had now taken firm roots in Pakistan. "The Office of Federal Ombudsman was established on January 24, 1983 and the concept has been replicated in other areas of governance including banking, insurance, taxation and harassment of woman at workplace," he added.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib institution, he said, over the last 40 years had established its credentials as an effective instrument for providing speedy and inexpensive administrative justice to the people against any act of maladministration by the federal agencies.

Ejaz Qureshi further stated that the objectives and purposes of the establishment of the ombudsman institution had a direct bearing on the realization of the overall goals of the promotion and protection of fundamental rights and good governance in all spheres of life.

He assured the international partners that Pakistan remained ready to share its experiences and best practices in promoting professionalism in the work of the ombudsman institutions for the benefit of the Asian regional fraternity.