Zubair Qureshi
Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi on Thursday vowed to resolve public disputes/cases of the lower strata of the society through Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) system on priority basis. According to the spokesperson of the Ombudsman’s office, the Federal Ombudsman has asked his Investigating Officers (IOs) to visit far-flung areas to resolve public grievances at their doorstep in the shortest possible time.
While chairing a meeting the Ombudsman said the Wafaqi Mohtaisb Secretariat had earned public acclaim for its role and the services it has rendered since inception.
The meeting also reviewed progress of cases’ disposal and performance of the IOs at the Head Office, Islamabad.
All the IOs from Head Office attended while 17 regional offices participated through video link. He was informed that as compared with last year 32,006 complaints were received with the increase of 56% while 30,132 complaints were disposed of with the increase of 53% in the first two months of 2023. He was further informed that a 66% increase was recorded in receipt of online complaints.
He expressed satisfaction over the disposal of complaints in the first two months of 2023. The Ombudsman office resolved these cases by utilizing innovative measures and adopting simple procedures, without taking additional budget or employing human resources, he added.
In the context of non-settlement of pension, gratuity and insurance claims of poor citizens by the Federal agencies on the ground of non-availability of funds, the Federal Ombudsman called upon his Advisors to submit to him the details to take up the matter with the relevant agencies.
