The Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court (FSC), Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan has said that the institution of Ombudsman is best suited for resolving common man's problems, which otherwise would result in long litigations at formal courts. The Chief Justice stated this during his visit to the Ombudsman Secretariat at the invitation of the Federal Ombudsman M. Salman Faruqui. The Chief Justice was accompanied by Justice Allama Dr Fida Muhammad Khan, Justice Sh. Najam-ul-Hassan, Additional Registrar Syed Nadeem Haider and Deputy Registrar, Mrs Shabnam Amir Khan.
While appreciating the role of Ombudsman in resolving public grievances the Chief Justice said that all national institutions must combine their efforts to bring about meaningful and comprehensive change in the system of governance in the country. He said that it was only through such dedicated and collective efforts that meaningful change in the system could take place. "We must not ignore the pressing need for effectively revamping the defective system for desired improvement," he added.
The Chief Justice further said that there was lack of information about the role an objectives of the Ombudsman Institution, therefore, information in this regard need to be widely disseminated to enable the common man to approach the institution in large numbers for redressal of their grievances. He praised the competence and integrity of the team of advisors, who were assisting the Ombudsman in the discharge of his responsibilities.
Earlier, the Federal Ombudsman M.Salman Faruqui while welcoming the Chief Justice and other Judges said that such visits were a source of great encouragement for the institution. The Ombudsman gave a detailed briefing to the judges on the overall operations of the institution.
He said that the main emphasis of the institution was on expeditious delivery of justice to the aggrieved complainants. In this connection he referred to the 1983 presidential Order which he said had certain lacunas, that required to be addressed, therefore, after he was appointed Ombudsman he immediately paid attention to the matter for improving the effectiveness of the institution. Therefore, Wafaqi Mohtasib Regulations 2013 was formulated with the expert advice of imminent jurists, legal experts and members of the civil society.-PR