No appointment of federal ombudsman in sight

The government continues to delay the appointment of federal ombudsman and the position of a top watchdog in the country remains vacant since October 28, 2010, with thousands of grievances of citizens pending for disposal.
It is a strange coincidence that the federal government and a provincial government of Narendra Modi in Indian state of Gujarat are not only facing serious allegations of corruption, but are also reluctant to appoint ombudsmen. Thousands of complaints are pending in the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s office as President Asif Ali Zardari has not appointed the federal ombudsman on the seat vacated by Javed Sadiq Malik on October 28, 2010 after the completion of his four-year constitutional tenure.
The Gujarat High Court sent a notice to the state government the other day and asked it to submit an affidavit detailing the status of the appointment of ‘lok ayukta’, an anti-corruption ombudsman.
Unfortunately, no Pakistani social activist, lawyer or politician has approached any court against the inordinate delay in the appointment of the federal ombudsman by the president. Since October, not even an acting ombudsman has been appointed by the president, which is an obligation under the Article 7 of the 1983 Order. According to data released by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), the federal ombudsman received over 32,000 complaints from across the country in 2010 alone, with Punjab leading with 17,469 complaints.
“The department of Wafaqi Mohtasib received 990 complaints from the federal capital, 7,224 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 469 from Balochistan, 5,370 from Sindh, 71 from FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan and 782 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” the CPDI report said. In the absence of the ombudsman, the only remedy available for the aggrieved is the mediation mechanism offered by the investigation officers under the powers conferred by Article 33 of the order, ie informal resolution of disputes.
However, the cases that cannot be resolved through this informal dispute resolution mechanism are usually the ones most critical and thus require the most immediate attention. Apart from providing relief to citizens in cases of mal administration, office of the federal ombudsman serves as an appellant body in matters pertaining to the right to information under Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed said that by not appointing the ombudsman, President Zardari had violated the constitution for which he should be tried under Article 6 for high treason. “The president and prime minister are making institutions non-functional for which they should be tried under Article 6… such behaviour is tantamount to the subversion of the constitution,” he added. Justice (r) Wajihuddin said there was no anti-corruption establishment existent in the country at the moment, as NAB, FIA and the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan were practically non-functional.
Commenting on the issue, Senator Parvez Rashid of the PML-N said the government was afraid of accountability organisations like criminals who feared handcuffs. “The PML-N has been raising the issue of the ombudsman’s appointment. The government does not appoint an ombudsman as it wants to eliminate the culture of accountability from the country,” he said.
The senator said some favourites of President Zardari had also refused to take the post. “Poor masses are suffering as their complaints are not being entertained,” he said, adding that the people had no door to knock against corrupt practices of government servants. Adil Gilani, chairman of the Transparency International Pakistan said there was no governance in the country. “The government has not only failed to appoint the federal ombudsman, but also did not appoint the chairman and prosecutor general of NAB. Even, the government has yet not appointed a auditor general,” he said. He said PPP-led coalition government had shattered whole system. “It does not comply with Supreme Court orders and is also not serious is passing new accountability bill … by not appointing the federal ombudsman, the government has made the Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan a dysfunctional body,” Adil Gilani said.