The Federal Ombudsman office (Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat) has disposed of 193,030 complaints, which is 22 percent higher than the previous year.
Briefing the delegation of Associated Press of Pakistan’s (APP) Youth Media Training Program (YMTP), Senior Advisor, Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat, Moiz Bokhari said that during the outgoing year 2023, this office received and processed a record number of complaints which stood at 194,106 that is 18% higher than the preceding years.
He said that a system of strict monitoring, follow up and verification of the implementation of each and every decision was in place and an impressive implementation rate of 85.4% was recorded in 2023, adding that 88% complaints were disposed of within the prescribed limit of 60 days.
The senior advisor informed the delegation that the officers of the Wafaqi Mohtasib Office were dispensing justice to the people at their doorsteps.
Our Investigation Officers visited the remote and far off areas of the country and decided 3149 cases, which spared the complainants from taking the trouble of visiting the Wafaqi Mohtasib office at the headquarters or the major cities of the country, he added.
Dilating on the international linkages of this office, the senior advisor observed that the office of the Wafaqi Mohtasib was an active member of the International Ombudsman’s Institute (IOI) the OIC Ombudsman Association (AOA) (OICOA) and the Asian Ombudsman Association.
He said that the Wafaqi Mohtasib was re-elected unopposed as President of the AOA by the General Assembly of the Asian Ombudsman Association, which was a 47-member strong professional body of Ombudsmen of the Asian Region representing more than two third of the world population, which was indeed a great honour for the country.
He said that the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat was often referred to as the poor man’s court since it strives to bring administrative justice to the people especially to those belonging to the marginalized and deprived segments of the population.
He said that owing to the hard work and dedication of our officers and by employing instruments like the Khuli Katcharies and the Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) programmes, this office had been able to redress large number of public complaints, thereby providing relief to a sizeable segment of the people in a hassle-free manner.
It was started in April 2022 in some offices but latter extended to other as well in view of its massive success in speedy resolution of public problems. He said that there was a great deal of improvement in redressing the public complaints which are lately exhibiting an upward trend due to increase in population and other factors.
He elaborated that during the year 2022 this office received 164,174 complaints, which swelled to 194,099 in 2023 which is, a reflection of the public trust and confidence in this office.
He particularly referred to the steps taken for resolution of the problems and welfare of the Overseas Pakistanis, pensioners and prisoners specially the women and juvenile prisoners in jails, which resulted in considerably improving their lot.
He informed that now there were 18 Regional Offices and four Complaints Collection Centers, covering nearly the entire length of the country.
Advisor (Appraisal) Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat Shahid Hamayyun, Advisor Media Inam Ul Haq Javed, Registrar Muhammad Saqib Khan and Director General Admin Muhammad Safdar also briefed the delegation.
Incharge APP’s Youth Media Training Program and Additional Director APP’s Video News Service (VNS) Yawar Abbas informed that the APP had been serving the nation since 1947 by providing an accurate and uninterrupted flow of news to the people.
He said that under the dynamic leadership of present Managing Director APP, Muhammad Asim Khichi, the national news service was implementing a comprehensive strategy to transform the existing news operations into a forward-looking service which was APP Digital Service for its diverse subscribers and the general public.
He said that on the direction of MD APP the digital service had been striving to serve as a rich online source of information for latest news, reports, analytic write-ups on Pakistan, and events and issues of regional and international importance.
He added all APP services were being made available on a range of digital platforms.
Adhering to the guiding principles, as per its Charter, the APP, aims at providing authentic news content through its multiple platforms within the shortest possible time, to the widest possible audience.
He said that the APP’s Youth Media Training Program was launched as per vision of the government of Pakistan and on the direction of the MD APP, realizing its responsibility as major national media organization to impart training to unskilled educated youth, with having objective to polish their skills so that they can earn for their families on completion of training.
He said that this training program offered an unparalleled opportunity to acquire hands-on expertise in key facets of media, shaping the next generation of media industry leaders.
He added the initiative was actually a transformative journey for the country’s youth with a government news agency.
He said that Youth Media Training Program was a premier initiative tailored for students of journalism and media. With this training program, students can seize a chance to propel their media career to new heights.
