PESHAWAR: The Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib) Office has extended its services to merged districts of former Tribal Agencies and opened its two offices, one in Sadda district Kurram and another at Wana South Waziristan to provide speedy relief and justice in those areas.

These areas deserve our full attention and should not be neglected. This was stated by Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi while addressing the notables, heads of different government agencies and media in a press conference held at WMS regional office, DI Khan. He said that four Offices in Peshawar, DI Khan, Swat and Abbottabad were functioning to the fullest capacity in settled areas; however, the coverage to erstwhile tribal areas was the need of the hour.

The Ombudsman said that through innovative measures and simple procedures 164,174 with 49% increased complaints were handled during the year 2022 without taking additional budget and employing human resources. He said that there was a 95% increase in online disposal of 91,496 cases, which shows people’s trust in this Secretariat. He said that on the vision of justice at doorstep, hearing of complaints was also conducted online when requested by the complainant.

Performance target for Investigation Officers and Advisors has been enhanced to more than 100% during 2022, he added. He said that speedy and inexpensive justice was ensured through 27 frequent inspections of public service organizations and conducting 68 Khuli Katcheries through the 17 Regional Offices around the country. He further stated that complaints worth over Rs.3 billion were addressed by this office during the last year, otherwise these cases would have added burden to the civil courts.

He said that Government expenditure per complainant in disposing of complaints through Wafaqi Mohtasib construes negligible amounts, thus it is the most cost-effective way of providing relief to the common man.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023