Complainants’ issues resolved on Ombudsman’s orders

LAHORE: As a result of an own-motion notice of Punjab Ombudsman Major (retd) Azam Suleman Khan over a news item about the delay in payment of salaries to janitorial and security staff of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Complex, the Auqaf Department has paid pending dues valuing Rs6,537,064 to them.

The spokesman for the Office of Ombudsman Punjab stated this on Wednesday. While giving details about legal relief provided to the complainants, the spokesman added that the financial aid case of another applicant from Sheikhupura namely Safia Bibi had been resolved after the involvement of the Ombudsman Punjab and she had been paid Rs300,000 after a long wait of 13 years. Meanwhile, a summary was being moved to the competent authority by the school education department for seeking approval to initiate a formal inquiry under the PEEDA Act, 2006, in the light of the initial department inquiry against 14 officials of the department found responsible for depriving the applicant of her legal right for 13 long years without justified reasons, the spokesman mentioned. The spokesman added that an applicant Safia Sikandar of Lahore had been given Rs4,348,541 as a family pension while another Lahorite Rahat Abdul Raheem had been paid Rs3,442,259 as arrears of the salary of her husband who died during service. The higher education department has also provided Rs3.4 million as

financial aid to Muzammila Akram of Bahawalpur, the spokesman concluded.