• Mohtasib’s Office to undertake inspections of select agencies to identify shortcomings in their operations  and addressing the difficulties faced by the people. 
• Wafaqi Mohtasib to launch system of informal resolution of disputes for resolving public complaints at grass roots level. 
• Wafaqi Mohtasib emphasises the need for early corrective measures by the Agencies to rectify malfunctioning in their operations. 

The Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi addressing a meeting of Senior Advisors and Investigation Officers directed them to hold open hearing of complaints (Khuli Katcheris) in remote tehsils/districts to provide speedy and inexpensive justice on the doorsteps of the complainants. He added that, in the first phase, Khuli Katcheris will be organized in tehsils/districts falling within the jurisdiction of the existing Regional Offices.  This will afford the general public an opportunity to raise their grievances in the presence of the representative of the Federal departments, closer to their homes and get immediate relief. Currently, the institution of Wafaqi Mohtasib in addition to its Head Office in Islamabad, is extending services to general public through 14 Regional Offices operating at Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Bahawalpur, Quetta, Sukkur, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, D.I. Khan, Gujranwala, Abbottabad, Kharan and Sargodha. 

The Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Office in terms of legal provisions governing its  establishment, is empowered to constitute Inspection Teams for the performance of any its functions. Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi stated that Inspection Teams headed by Senior Advisors would be constituted for the purpose of inspections which would include notables from the civil society to visit select institutions like NADRA, Government Hospitals, Passport Office etc. He added that the proposed inspection visits will help improve the service delivery of such organizations and provide necessary relief to the general public. 

Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Qureshi stated that the Regional Offices, in addition to the existing complaint resolution system, will soon start redressing grievances of the general public  through the medium of  Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD). The relevant legal provisions empower the Wafaqi Mohtasib to informally conciliate, amicably resolve or settle any grievance without any written memorandum without the necessity of docketing any complaint or issuing any official notice. The introduction of IRD system will greatly benefit common citizens in  remote areas particularly those who cannot afford to hire expensive legal services or face lengthy litigation process. 

Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) stated that the institution has earned public acclaim for its role and the commendable services that it has rendered during the last 38 years. He expressed satisfaction over the disposal of more than 110,000 complaints during the last year with an impressive implementation rate of 92% of its decisions/findings within the stipulated time frame of 60 days. He stressed that many of the public complaints would not even arise if the Federal agencies were to undertake internal review of their practices and introduce an affective mechanism for self correction as well as punishment to the delinquent officials for their negligence and inefficiency. He directed his Investigation Offices and staff to work closely with the representatives of the Federal agencies with a view to addressing systemic flaws and early redressal of public grievances and timely implementation of decisions without the necessity of invoking punitive legal provisions.