The institution of the Wafaqi
Mohtasib was established in January, 1983 and has continued functioning till
date. The success of this institution in addressingills of maladministration is
reflected in the fact that not only have Ombudsman's Offices been created in
the provincial government but also a range of such offices has been created in
different specific sectors of federal government like tax, banking. insurance
and protection of women against harassment at work pace etc. As more and more
people got aware of the functioning of this easily accessible institution for
expeditious and cost free resolution of their grievances against government
agencies, the number of complaints grew with the consequential increase in the
redressal of the grievances. Over the years, 17 Regional Offices of the WMS
have been created which are redressing the grievances of the complainants by
using latest information technology tools. Besides, systemic reforms have been
undertaken to address the root causes of the complaints and a number of
initiatives have been taken for the betterment of the aggrieved citizens. The
WMS has also contributed meaningfully for promotion of Ombudsmanship at
international level and currently the Wafaqi Mohtasib is the President of the
Asian Ombudsman Association.
In order to analyze the evolution
process of the WMS, the entire period of 40 years has been divided in three
time slots for the purpose of having a broad view of the significant aspects of
the evolution process. The details of these significant aspects are as follows:
1983 to the year 2000:- In the formative phase, it was
initially in 1985 that the then Wafaqi Mohtasib highlighted the need to add a
new dimension to the institution's conceptual and operational framework in the
context of eradication of maladministration. He also made a number of other
recommendations for enhancing efficiency and responsiveness in the government
functioning in general as well as specific aspects of administration.
The establishment of regional
offices of the WMS in the provincial capitals was notified in January, 1983 and
with the support of the government, a regional office each was actually
established at Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta in the years 1984-85 which
enabled the WMS to start working with full force.
In the year 1986 the then
President Gen. Muhammad Zia UI Haq visited the WMS and indicated that he had
urged upon the provincial governments to establish this worthwhile and useful
institution which had proved its efficacy, effectiveness and relevance for the
welfare of the people and dispensation of justice.
Earlier in the year 1990,
President Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan issued a directive to all Agencies exhorting
them to promptly implement the recommendations of the Wafaqi Mohtasib and
extend their full cooperation to him.
In 1995, the then Prime Minister
directed all the Federal Agencies to ensure compliance promptly in respect of
the cases involving pension, gratuities or other benefits arising on
retirement; for giving preference in employment to the widow or children of
deceased/retired employees in grade 1 to 11 as per relevant recruitment rules;
for appointment of women against their reserved quota; medical expenses;
insurance claims; utility bills; compensation or remission allowed to widows,
orphans, invalids or incapacitated persons where the amount was not more than
Rs.5 lac in an individual case and was permissible under the law.
In 1996, Pakistan had the unique
honour of successfully pioneering the formation of the Asian Ombudsman
Association (AOA). It was a great privilege to have an international
organization established with its secretariat in the Office of the Wafaqi
Mohatasib at Islamabad. The Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan became the first
President of the AOA and continued to hold this prestigious position till the
year 2013 when there was a gap in appointment of regular Mohtasib. Pakistan has
not only been hosting the meeting of the Board of Directors of the AOA at
Islamabad but has ever since been contributing a lot in promotion of the
concept of Ombudsmanship internationally.
In 1999, the first draft of the
Regulations for Investigation and Disposal of Complaints was prepared. The
draft was based on the consolidated circulars issued in 1987 and actual
investigation practice evolved over the years. Most of the investigation
procedures were introduced by Pakistan's first Mohtasib, Chief Justice Sardar
Muhammad Iqbal. The Regulations were approved and circulated among all the
Investigation Officers in October, 1999. These Regulations were subsequently
amended slightly in the years 2003 and 2013 to bring in greater clarity.
It was in the year 2000 that the
then Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf visited the WMS and directed the
concerned authorities of the Govt. to look into the proposal for grant greater
financial and administrative autonomy to WMS and establishment of its regional
offices. Consequently, 4 new regional offices were establishment at Sukkur,
Multan, Faisalabad and D.I Khan in June, 2000.
2001 to the year 2016:- This period reflects a rapid
transformation of the WMS in the context of institutional reforms, expansion of
its scope of activities, enhanced ability to deal with public complaints, lot
better office accommodation facilities, availability of modern technology for
registration and monitoring the processing and disposal of complaints. New
mechanisms were introduced to provide for expeditious disposal of public complaints.
Great emphasis was placed on implementation of the decisions of the Mohtasib
and the Implementation wing was strengthened. Revolutionizing the complaint
processing mechanism, a Complaint Management Information System (CMIS) was
conceived by the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat (WMS) in the year 2005 and was
formally launched in July 2007, under the Access to Justice Program. This is a
state-of-the-art system, which is palpably contributing towards the efficient
functioning of the WMS.
In the years 2015 & 2016, the
Wafaqi Mohtasib constituted a number of committees of experts and professionals
to look into the root causes of persistent complaints against various agencies
and to suggest remedial measures. The committees undertook exhaustive studies
and submitted their reports which were forwarded to the government for further
consideration and implementation of the recommendations contained in the
reports.
2017 to the year 2022:- In this period the focus of attention
of the WMS remained on resolving maximum number of complaints and pursuing the
implementation of the recommendations of the reports prepared in the context of
systemic reforms. Greater than ever reliance was placed on the use of latest
information technology tools for registration, processing and disposal of
complaints as well as monitoring the implementation of the recommendations /
decisions of the Wafaqi Mohtasib. Besides, focused attention was paid on
enhancement of public awareness about the functions of the WMS and the results
turned out to be very positive.
During the period, the WMS has
evolved and grown into a premier organization of administrative accountability.
He has tried to live up to its mandate and has continuously stove to improve
its functioning and standards over the years.
Interestingly, greater use of information technology during this period has remarkably increased the outreach of the WMS further and has made it easily accessible to the public to a far greater extent. The initiatives taken by it to carry out systemic reforms and to facilitate the general public further enhanced the stature and clout of this institution in this period. at September 23, 2023 No comments:
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