Pakistani re-elected Asian Ombudsman Association president

ISLAMABAD: Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz has been elected unopposed as the president of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) for a second time and for the next four years during the International Ombudsman Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey.

The conference was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and China nominated Pakistan for the presidency with Japan and Turkey seconding the move during election proceedings, said a press statement issued here.

Speaking on the occasion, Syed Tahir Shahbaz thanked all member countries for twice showing confidence in Pakistan’s leadership and especially thanked China, Turkey and Japan for backing him.

He said in his address that good governance was essential as no society could survive without the fulfilment of the basic needs of its people and the provision of inexpensive and expeditious administrative justice, adding that good governance must be ensured by selecting people of integrity who have the necessary knowledge and skills to guard against irregularities committed by the administration such as corruption and discrimination in providing services to people.
He observed that Ombudsmen were also entrusted with looking into systemic issues to ensure good governance.

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"In Pakistan, our institution has contributed significantly to good administration by disposing of 62,000 public complaints against government agencies this year, carrying out systemic reforms to address the root causes of complaints, upgrading the complaint management system and establishing interface with a number of government agencies for better monitoring and expeditious resolution of public grievances", he said.

He also said special arrangements had been made to resolve the problems of millions of Pakistanis by establishing ‘One Window Facilitation’ at all international airports in the country, early settlement of pension claims of new retirees and ensuring regular visits by the Ombudsman’s office to district and tehsil headquarters to resolve public complaints closer to their doorsteps.

He further said the Ombudsman’s Office had also contributed substantially toward improving living conditions in jails.

During the conference, most countries appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to bring about improvements in good governance and also urged members to follow Pakistan’s good practices.

It is pertinent to mention here that the AOA Secretariat is situated in Pakistan.

Turkey’s Chief Ombudsman Seref Malkoc also appreciated Pakistan’s performance in running the affairs of the association.