The
Ombudsman represents a government body which is independent from the judiciary
and the executive and addresses citizens’ complaints. Having special powers to
protect citizens’ human rights, ombudsman offices are considered as places of
solace and asylum for neglected sections of society.
Depending
upon the powers an ombudsman is entrusted with, its role varies from society to
society. In some societies, an ombudsman is empowered enough to receive
complaints, launch investigations into them and impose its verdict upon
respective parties.
While in other societies, their role is confined to mediatory bodies which just
recommend solutions with no powers to take practical steps to serve justice to
the affectees.
In
Pakistan, the ombudsman’s office emulates the former situation. It is empowered
enough to take up complaints against all federal and provincial government
offices, to launch investigations and to impose its verdicts. Not only that,
the ombudsman in Pakistan also enjoys a good reputation and credibility among
the masses. The Federal Ombudsman enjoys the status of a judge of Supreme Court
and thus its decision cannot be challenged.
However,
despite having such a competent body readily available to take up people’s
grievances, and despite being exploited by government service providers on a
daily basis, only a negligible fraction of the society invokes the ombudsman office’s
help. Many prefer to use their contacts or use corrupt means to get their way.
A major
reason behind the phenomenon is not the fact that people are inclined towards
illegal ways of getting things done, but their ignorance about the prevalence
of any such body in the country. At a time when corruption, nepotism and
mal-governments have become the hallmark of our nation, having a credible body
to help people out is not something people are accustomed to.
But the
fact of the matter is that the nation benefits by having such a competent body
which is committed to eradicating corruption and bad governance. Unfortunately
many people are not aware of its existence. Recently, in a seminar, while
giving his presentation
to the media and representatives of non government and development
organizations, Mr. A.R Abid, Additional Secretary at Wafaqi Mohtasib’s
Secretariat, Islamabad said that despite the fact that Mohtasib’s (ombudsman)
office was in place since 1983, it had not yet been able to play its role fully.
He
lamented the fact that the body did not have a resource base which could be
utilized for running an awareness campaign, and thus, they were out to seek
help from the media, NGOs, civil society organizations, and students to make
their voices and their message reach at all corners of the country.He suggested
that instead of taking the complaints as routine complaints from the masses,
government officials should take them as part of the process which will lead to
improvements.
It was
encouraging to know that the Ombudsman office in Pakistan defines good
governance in the context of three basic principles – accountability,
transparency and integrity. It has a quick system of registering and
acknowledging complaints against federal and provincial agencies and ensures
redressal of grievances within no later than three months. Besides the
provincial ombudsman offices which have their presence in all major districts
of the country, the Federal Ombudsman also has a nationwide presence through its
offices in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and AJK.
Having
said this, a crucial factor for ombudsman’s proper functioning is its
prerequisite to have an honest leadership. Perhaps that is the reason that the
seat of the federal ombudsman is lying vacant for many months and there seems
to be no one taking that seat in the near future. Nevertheless, since the
office is running its routine matters quite efficiently, civil society, non
government organizations and the media must play its role in highlighting the
body’s efficacy and effectiveness in promoting a culture of accountability and
good governance in the country.
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