Ombudsman calls for good governance

Says addressing maladministration, was essential for ensuring sanctity of human rights

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has said that maladministration and bad governance are two sides of the same coin. Both breed in an environment of favoritism, discrimination and corruption.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion the 40th year of the establishment of the Ombudsman institution in Pakistan, he said that addressing maladministration, was essential for ensuring sanctity of human rights and achieving the ultimate goals of good governance and the rule of law.

He added that the office of the Federal Ombudsman was established with the explicit objective to diagnose, investigate, redress and rectify any injustice done to a person through maladministration by the government agencies. Qureshi stated that the institution of Ombudsman has evolved over the years and is recognised today as an essential feature of every modern democratic society.

The structure, scope and powers of Ombudsman, however, vary from one society to another and is directly related to the larger social, political and legal systems being followed in that country.

The ombudsman institutions, around the world, act in support of supreme judiciary and contribute in making dispensation of justice more accessible and inexpensive, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2023.