Growing trust in Ombudsman

It is a sign of the common people’s growing confidence in the Office of the Federal Ombudsman that in the first nine months of the current year, the number of complaints registered with it has doubled when compared with the figure in the same period of 2019. So far this year, the institution has received 1,04,000 complaints — disposing of 94,000 or more than 90% of them — as against 53,073 complaints in nine months of 2019. The number of complaints doubled despite the lingering coronavirus pandemic. Enjoying a significant degree of independence, the ombudsman investigates and addresses public complaints of maladministration and violation of rights. Officials of the ombudsman secretariat assist him in investigation and redressal of public complaints. The ombudsman office provides its services to complainants free of charge and helps the aggrieved get speedy justice. Federal agencies assist the ombudsman secretariat in its functioning and the implementation wing of the ombudsman office in carrying out the ombudsman’s decisions.

The office of the Federal Ombudsman, or Wafaqi Mohtasib, has been established under the provision of the Constitution. The institution is meant to bridge the gap between the citizen and the administration. The ombudsman’s purpose is to instititutionalise a system for enforcing administrative accountability through investigating any injustice because of maladministration by a federal agency or federal official. The Wafaqi Mohtasib is empowered to award compensation to those who have suffered loss or damage as a result of maladministration by government departments or their officials. Matters relating to personal grievances of government servants, foreign affairs, national defence and armed forces are excluded from jurisdiction of the ombudsman office. The federal ombudsman secretariat has its regional offices in several cities of the country to facilitate the public.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2020.

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