The Acting Federal Ombudsman Salman Farooqui has said that efforts will be made to dispose off 75,000 pending cases in the next six months.
He was talking to media after chairing a meeting of the advisors and officers of the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat Regional Office Karachi, Sukkur and Quetta here on Saturday.
Salman was of the view that legal lacunas existed in the laws of the Wafaqi Mohtasib and those of Mohtasibs of Tax, Banking, Insurance and Women’s Affairs.
These should be so addressed that prompt justice could be made available to the complainants by the ombudsmen having the power to provide the relief.
He said that in this regard a committee which was presided over by a former chief justice of the high court.
The acting federal ombudsman said that he believed that the required changes sought in the law would be forwarded to the Ministry of Law.
He stated that such a system should be put in place that any aggrieved person could lodge a complaint in the form of an application via the internet and the acknowledgement of this would be made within 24 hours.
He further stated that applicants should forward the required departmental documents in a week’s time after which a prompt notice of would be taken in that regard.
The acting federal ombudsman said that if all the documents were complete, then the applicant would not be asked to appear in person as only the officials of the department concerned would be summoned.
Furthermore, he said that they would be served a notice and if they did not appear on the date given to them, adding that in that case only one more hearing would be fixed and ex parte decision would be made.
He said that the every complainant’s case would be finalised in 60 days’ time.
Moreover, Salman said that the department was considering establishing more offices of the federal ombudsman in other cities also to help provide relief to citizens at their doorsteps.
He also said that another suggestion under discussion was the appointment of grievance commissioners in every government department who would check the record of each case within 24 hours when a complaint was lodged. They would examine the cases and if it met the merit, it would be immediately referred to the ombudsman secretariat, he added.
