LAHORE: The fifth Annual Ombudsman Day 2022 will be celebrated all over the world, including Pakistan, today, October 13 (Thursday).

The purpose of celebrating this day is to sensitize the people about the institutional mechanism of protecting their rights so that no government official or department could be negligent in upholding the legal rights of the citizens.

Commenting regarding this a senior officer of the ombudsman office Qudrate Ullah explained that the provincial ombudsman office was playing an important role in ensuring good governance through the eradication of corrupt practices and maladministration.

It has realized government officials that they are accountable to the people and no dereliction would be tolerated in this regard. In this way, the establishment of a law-abiding society is bolstered and the public trust in the government is also strengthened, the spokesman asserted.

He maintained that the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab was playing an important role in protecting public rights by providing them with free and expeditious relief. In the 25 years of its existence, the ombudsman office has redressed 347,369 public complaints.

ICT has been dexterously employed for the prompt registration of public complaints; he noted and added that local plaintiffs and expatriates, from across the globe, could lodge their complaints to the concerned regional office through the official website www.ombudsmanpunjab.gov.pk or bilingual mobile application OPMIS. A focal person has also been nominated for dealing with the complaints of the overseas Pakistanis, he added. The complaints could also be sent through post or in person.

Along with this, a dedicated helpline 1050 has been launched to help and guide the citizens. A working group has been formed through the Chief Provincial Commissioner for Children to protect the rights of children and to save them from online harassment or exploitation, he reported.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022