Peshawar: Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi said that an ever increasing number of complaints are being received in the Ombudsman’s Offices which are expected to touch the highest ever figure of 190,000 by end of the current year 2023. This upsurge in registration of complaints is true reflection of public trust and confidence in the Institution. He was addressing the heads of federal government departments during his visit to Peshawar.
Giving the comparative analysis, he said that in 2021, around 110,000 complaints were received while in 2022, the number rose to more than 164000. He informed that in the year 2023, the Secretariat has received 102,520 complaints till date while number of disposed of cases has crossed 103,291, including backlog. He anticipated that the number of complaints may reach above 190,000 in the current year. Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi added that the implementation pace of Wafaqi Mohtasib’s decisions has also remained very healthy and over 80% of its decisions stood implemented. He further said that the dispensation of speedy justice to the complainants requires full cooperation of civil servants in the Federal agencies.
Mr. Qureshi reiterated that the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat works as a “poor man’s court”. It acts as a source of providing relief to the downtrodden and oppressed complainants against administrative excesses and any acts of omission or commission committed by the Federal agencies. Mr. Ejaz Qureshi said that the Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) mechanism is being widely welcomed among the complainants from KPK, as in practice the system was similar to jirga system, which has been in practice in their society for years. He further said that this is a simple mechanism, where the decisions are made with mediation, conciliation and mutual agreement, without docketing the complaints and issuing official notices and following strict official procedures.
Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi called upon the regional heads of Government agencies to depute focal persons working on responsible positions to represent their departments during the hearing processes at the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Offices so that proper implementation is ensured and justice is dispensed with expeditiously. He also advised them to develop complaint resolution mechanism within their respective departments which will both generate goodwill among the people as well as reduce the load of complaints on the Wafaqi Mohtasib Offices. The heads of government agencies present in the meeting assured the Federal Ombudsman of their full cooperation and utmost vigilance to ensure provision of quick relief to the general public.