The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) is providing expeditious and free-of-cost relief to citizens on their grievances against the federal government agencies, Senior Adviser Abdul Moiz Bukhari has said. The official expressed these views at a briefing to the interns of Associated Press of Pakistan’s youth media training programme during their visit to the Ombudsman Secretariat.
Bukhari said Wafaqi Mohtasib was contributing to good governance in public departments through its verdicts ensuring the principles of “fairness, transparency and integrity”. In 2023, he said, action was taken on a record 194,099 complaints registered against government departments, out of which 193,028 were addressed. He said the Mohtasib received 49,190 online and 22,321 complaints through mobile application, witnessing a 47 and 21 percent increase compared to 2022, respectively. An action was taken on a record number of 202,367 complaints received from overseas Pakistanis, he added. Besides use of technology, he said, new regional offices, Khuli katchehris (open courts), unconventional modes of mediation and visits of inspection teams proved helpful in resolution of complaints.
