Alvi for special cell at Ombudsman Sectt to facilitate expatriates

Islamabad : President Dr Arif Alvi Tuesday asked the Federal Ombudsman to create a special cell to redress the grievances and rectify injustices done to the expatriates through the maladministration of government agencies.

The president made the remarks during a briefing on the role of Wafaqi Mohtasib, given by Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz here at the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat.

The meeting was attended by Acting Secretary Federal Ombudsman Aftab Akbar Durrani, Consultant (Legal Affairs) President’s Secretariat Justice (r) Sayed Zahid Hussain and senior advisers of Federal Ombudsman, a press release said.

The president also called for revisiting the laws governing the institution of Federal Ombudsman to provide speedy and free-of-cost justice to the people against the maladministration of government organisations.

Addressing the meeting, the president emphasised the need for further enhancing the outreach of Federal Ombudsman to remote areas of the country to provide speedy and free of cost justice to the aggrieved persons at their doorsteps against administrative injustices.

He underlined the need to use the alternative dispute resolution system for the provision of speedy, less expensive and hassle-free justice to the people, which could boost the confidence and trust of people in the judicial system.

He advised the Federal Ombudsman to create awareness among the people about the role of institution in dispensing speedy and free of cost administrative justice.

The president also underscored the need to digitally integrate the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat with the President’s Secretariat, which would greatly help in the quick disposal of representations and public complaints as well as saving time and public money.

Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz briefed the president about the achievements of his organisation during his tenure.

He apprised the meeting that Federal Ombudsman had witnessed a considerable increase in the number of complaints due to its role in provision of justice and a public awareness campaign through media and awareness seminars.

He informed that Federal Ombudsman had received 133,251 complaints during 2020 as compared to 73,059 during 2019, which was 82% higher than the last year.

He highlighted that the implementation rate of the Federal Ombudsman’s decisions was 99.6% during the year 2020.