Ombudsman for resolving public disputes through IRD

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has vowed to resolve public dispute, cases of the lower strata of the society through Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) system on priority basis.

He chaired a meeting to review progress Investigating Officers (IOs) at Head Office, Islamabad on Thursday. All the IOs from head office attended the meeting while 17 regional offices participated through a video link.

The federal ombudsman asked his IOs to visit far flung areas to resolve grievances at their doorstep in the shortest possible time. He said that the Wafaqi Mohtaisb Secretariat has earned public acclaim for its role and the services it has rendered since its inception.

The meeting informed him that as compared to last year 32,006 complaints were received with the increase of 56% while 30,132 complaints were disposed of with an increase of 53% in the first two months of 2023. He was further informed that 66% increase was recorded in receipt of online complaints. He expressed satisfaction over the disposal of complaints in the first two months of 2023.

The ombudsman office resolved these cases by utilising innovative measures and adopting simple procedures, without taking additional budget or employing human resources, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2023.