ISLAMABAD: The online hearing of complaints by the federal ombudsman secretariat during the corona outbreak has resulted in an increase in such complaints and their speedy redressal.

Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz said on Monday experience of online hearings remained successful during the lockdown. He said that the number of complaints had even increased during the lockdown.

He was speaking to the investigating officers of regional offices Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Gujranwala through video conferencing.

“If a complainant fails to attend hearing proceedings, the concerned investigating officer has to get the version of the complainant on telephone,” he said.

He was informed that most of the complaints had been disposed of within 30 to 45 days while very few took 60 days to reach a conclusion.

Moreover, there is not a single complaint pending at regional offices of Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala. Only a few cases at regional offices Peshawar and Hyderabad remain inconclusive. The ombudsman directed the IOs of Peshawar and Hyderabad to clear the pending cases before June 30.

The heads of all the regional offices also presented their performance reports.

Registration of cases and their disposal at regional offices was also discussed.

Senior Adviser Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi and head of implementation wing Shahidullah Baid briefed the ombudsman on the performance and implementation of cases in all regional offices.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2020