KARACHI, Jan 23 (APP): The 43th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib in the country was observed in Federal Ombudsman Regional Office Karachi on Friday renewing the commitment to core values of good governance and dispensation of administrative justice to the general public.
The special message of Federal Ombudsman, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, highlighting significance of the day that marks beginning of a 43 year long journey of public service, promotion of the core values of good governance and rule of law, efforts for facilitating dispensation of administrative justice to the people, was read out in the ceremony by Senior Advisor Syed Anwar Haider.
Having come into existence on 24 January 1983, the institution has provided relief to more than 2.5 million households, mostly belonging to the disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the society, the Federal Ombudsman stated and called upon the Officers and staff members to redouble their efforts for speedy redressal of public complaints.
Over the years the ombudsman’s institution has emerged as the poor man’s court dispensing administrative justice to the citizens at their doorstep with intensified efforts and expanded outreach through regional offices and complaint collection centers in 28 cities, Online facilitation, Khuli Katchehries, outreach complaint resolution and informal resolution of disputes.
All these steps not only contributed to the resolution of public complaints but also helped dissemination of awareness among the masses, he said adding that Wafaqi Muhtasib has decided 261101 cases of various nature during the year 2025 with over 95% implementation rate while 15 increase was witnessed in the number of complaints filed.
Syed Anwar Haider, addressing the ceremony, said that Wafaqi Muhtasib Pakistan is leading all the other ombudsman institutes of Asia in terms of number and ratio of the resolved cases. These dedicated efforts were acknowledged at the international level and Pakistan, on the account of its performance and effectiveness, was chosen chairman of the Asian Ombudsmen Association for a consecutive term.
Responding to a media query he informed that a dedicated research wing analyse the received complaints on a regular basis and recommend remedial measures to address the frequently arising issues while inspection visits were also carried out to physically monitor the facilities and get direct feedback from the citizens.
The federal ombudsman has helped initiating reforms and ameliorating the situation in a number of federal government departments and organizations, he said and quoted opening of one-window facilitation desks at airports and special counters and remedial steps by other government organizations as success stories of Wafaqi Muhtasib.
On a question regarding complaints relating to provincial and local governments, he informed that such matters could be addressed through Informal Dispute Resolution, a mechanism provided in the relevant law.
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