Ombudsman attends AOA meeting

Islamabad : The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman) Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi returned after attending the meeting of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), says a press release.

He went to Baku, Azerbaijan, and presided over a meeting of the Board of Directors of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) in his capacity as president of AOA.

A heavy and important agenda was prepared as the BoD meeting was held after two years in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. In the meeting, a number of initiatives were approved including adding new members and holding the next General Assembly meeting in Tatarstan next year.

He was also the guest of honour on the invitation of the Government of Azerbaijan to attend the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan from 19 to 21 October. He spoke on the role of ombudsman-ship in Pakistan in the context of Human Rights in an international symposium organised in Baku. All these activities received wide coverage in the national TV and press of Azerbaijan.

The President of the OIC Ombudsman Association (OICOA), Seref Malkoç, chief ombudsman of Turkey requested the Federal Ombudsman to help and guide the working of OIC Ombudsman Secretariat based in the office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman, Pakistan.

In this connection, a task force was setup to develop feasible proposals. It may be recalled that OIC Ombudsman Association was setup in 2014 and its activities are to be brought at par with the Asian Ombudsman Association Secretariat located in Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat Office at Islamabad.