By: Kehkashan Tabbasum

Freelance Journalist

ISLAMABAD, Dec 8: In a country where justice is seldom dispensed at litigants’ doorsteps, every appellant is worried about next course of action of our maverick law makers, practitioners and justice providers. Although there are available a plenty of judicial institutions created to dispense cheap justice to all those petitioners who are either unable to move high or civil courts or pay hefty court or lawyer’s fees yet to lessen civil servants’ sufferings, the government had created the institution of the Federal Ombudsman in 1983 to identify, investigate and redress injustice stemming from the maladministration of federal government agencies. Ironically, like any other judicial forum, applications, complaints and petitions are piling up in Federal Ombudsman office waiting for disposal.

It is pertinent to note that the institution has lost ability to either impose or get implemented its verdicts. The institution now relies on issuing recommendations alone to the implementing authorities after losing the ability to get its decisions enforced. Hence, the notion of provider of cheap and speedy justice has lost.

For example, at least three pensioners of the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR), Islamabad had moved the Federal Ombudsman for payment of their pending pensionary dues but to no avail, sources recently confided to this scribe.

The NIHCR is a Centre of Excellence of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad facing financial crunch since fiscal 2021-2022. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) provides yearly budgetary allocations to the NIHCR, which are being decreased on yearly basis, reasons best known to the HEC authorities, thus piling up all the payments to retired and serving staff.

After being dejected with the administrative and financial working of the NIHCR as well as the HEC authorities in paying their pensionary dues, the sources disclosed, at least three NIHCR employees of BPS-12, BPS-16 and BPS-18 had moved the Federal Ombudsman to redress their grievances but in vain. Proving the proverb right—you scratch my back and I shall scratch yours—the Federal Ombudsman rejected their petitions inspite of the fact that initially his advisers had decided in favour of the plaintiffs! Certainly, it has failed to direct the HEC authorities to allocate and release required budget, grant-in-aid or the bailout package to the NIHCR to end their financial miseries.

Currently, the NIHCR has to pay to its staff and pensioners:

1.      House Rent Ceiling from July 2021 which is pending at the pretext that the HEC had not released funds to the NIHCR.

2.      Arrears of Gratuity and Leave Encashment. The NIHCR authorities hold HEC responsible for not releasing required funds to clear the pensioners once for all.

3.      Grant of 15 percent Adhoc Relief announced in the Budget 2024-25 to its pensioners.

4.      Implementation of the Special Dispensation for the Civil Servants in the Federal Government for the Employees in BPS-01 to BPS-16 effective 01-01-2023.

5.      Grant of 35 percent and 25 percent Adhoc Relief announced in the Budget 2023-24 to its staff and officers, respectively.

6.      Grant of 25 percent and 15 percent Adhoc Relief announced in the Budget 2024-25 to its staff and officers, respectively.

7.      Medical allowance and medical reimbursement to its staff.

As a last resort, the pensioners dared to move the Federal Ombudsman to get their grievances redressed but in vain. Hence, the petitioners have expressed displeasure over the services and the ‘cheap’ justice being provided by the Wafaqi Mohtasib.

It is high time for the Federal Ombudsman to review its decisions and get the NIHCR staff and pensioners their dues from the HEC.