Ombudsman rests rule of law on good administration.

ISLAMABAD -- Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has said maladministration and bad governance are two sides of the same coin and both breed in an environment of favouritism, discrimination and corruption.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the ombudsman institution on Tuesday, Mr Qureshi said resolving the issue of maladministration was essential to ensure sanctity of human rights and achieve ultimate goals of good governance and rule of law.

The office of the Federal Ombudsman was established on Jan 24, 1983 with the explicit objective to diagnose, investigate, redress and rectify injustice done to a person through maladministration by government agencies.

Mr Qureshi said the ombudsman institutions, around the world, acted in support of supreme judiciary and contribute to making dispensation of justice more accessible and inexpensive.

It is fundamentally the poor man's court. The complainants are not required to hire the services of a lawyer nor have to face lengthy legal processes as the cases are disposed of within the prescribed limit of 60 days.

Reviewing the performance of the Wafaqi Mohtasib's institution during the last 40 years, Mr Qureshi said more than 1.9 million households have benefited from the services of this office since its inception.

It is the most cost-effective way of providing relief to the common man.

He said periodic inspections of different agencies such as Passport Office, Islamabad International Airport, Nadra, Polyclinic, Pims, CDA Facilitation Centre, Railway Stations and Utility Stores in...