02-02-2011, 02:33 PM
According to a news item His Excellency Asif Ali Zardari is considering appointing Mr. Justice ® Abdul Hamid Dogar as the new Federal Ombudsman. The news item also stated that he is near to Mr. Asif Zardari. There had recently been views on talk shows that Mr. Asif Ali Zardari has an appreciable quality that he always remembers friends and people who remained close or around him. Same day another news item of much importance appeared that a dysfunctional and formal LHC judge the other day regretted before the Court on his taking oath under the PCO promulgated by the former military dictator. He however in his apology stated that at the time of taking oath he had no knowledge about any restraining order issued by any court.
There can be no second opinion that Justice ® Dogar was a controversial figure. Even before his taking oath when speculation about his possible appointment immediately after Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhary became dysfunctional, some critical views about him appeared in press and TV. He became clearly controversial when the matter of his daughter re; award of upward examination numbers by the Islamabad Educational Board to her daughter as a scandal. It is rightly believed that the Head of the Parliamentary Committee volatile Abid Sher MNA investigating this scandal for some âmysteriousâ unknown reasons all of a sudden sealed his lips on the issue. The issue then became the most hot topic in the country. Our new born judiciary which is taking deep interest in scandalous issues affecting national interests rightly and very wisely did not take notice of this hot issue as suo moto because this would had made by Musharraf & Associates a politicized one for their own advantage.
3rd November 2007 evening about 07.00 â 07.30 pm hardly was there any TV set in Pakistan switched off including those of Pakistanis abroad, the viewers saw the Chief Justice coming down the stairs of the SC Building after a long meeting discussing any possible emergency, when a shalwar-kameez wearing plain cloth swiftly came forward towards the Chief Justice and tried in vain to hand him over his mobile which the CJ refused to take. A few minutes later all these viewers saw live the CJ sitting in his car going home. The TV reporters present their telecast live all these scenes since hours repeatedly updating the viewers that the 7-member Bench after this late hour sitting and deliberations had issued a short Order restraining the Government from declaring any Emergency. The Order as per those live telecasts also directed the judges all over Pakistan to refrain from taking any oath in such an event. This announcement as a news item was repeated every 10-15 minutes the whole night and the next day. The Court of Justice Hamid Dogar had all along been controversial in as much that many prominent lawyers declared that they would not appear in the Court where Justice ® Dogar was presiding. At the same time it is a reality that the then existing Court even during the whole night falling between 3rd @ 4th November 2007 was a valid Court about the legal validity of which had never even a single finger ever been raised or any controversial remark till today ever heard of. I had earlier not heard the name of Mr. Justice ® Hamid Dogar but immediately the image of his legal personality changed in the eyes of this senior citizen when he dame caring put the Order of a valid legal court on his foot and took oath on PCO. A person who did not care and respect the Orders of a valid Court can not in the views of this senior citizen ever deliver true justice under principles of natural justice.
Early last year His Excellency Mr. Asif Ali Zardari showed his concern as to why the Federal Ombudsman had become ineffective and resolved to look into it. The Minister Babar Awan in the Assembly stated that this concern will be investigated. However as anything said today is not a word of Hadith, this remained just a word from the lips. The effectiveness of the whole ombudsman system in Pakistan has no doubt since long deteriorated the main reason of which is that the officials working in this system while take note of other's non obeying procedures as an act of mal administration themselves hardly observe the rules or procedures since most of them are enjoying re-employment after retirement and feel them exempt from abeyance of rules. For example there is a rule prescribed by the Federal Ombudsman himself that every investigation officer every three month would inform the complainant progress on his complaint. The good rule is in books only. I can holding Holy Quran solemnly affirm that during the last 15 years I have never even once ever received any such three monthly progress. After reminders over reminders a response is received. Someone a few years back rightly stated the ombudsman system is an employment exchange for the retired. The ombudsman system in Pakistan in its earlier years despite inexperience and teething problems played a marvelous role in dispensation of true natural justice. There are shining examples good for students of law to read which I can provide if needed. What is the condition today can be judged from one example. The KESC on its web has created a sort of awareness forum under which it advises citizens not to waste but preserve the electricity in the national interest. When as a conscientious civic minded citizen I acted on this advice I was severely punished for this sin of obedience to the national interest. When I saved energy ensuring not to use it even a single minute without the dire need, for 5-6 continuous months my residence bill came too heavily for still unutilized units. The units shown in the meter as the "Current Reading" were bogus as those readings on the meter were still months to reach. A huge money for all these months was pulled out from my money as punishment for my using less units. The response from KESC was that since my current trend of usage was not consistent to the previous months usage hence the excessive billings When the KESC advices people of Karachi not to waste electricity, on obeying and respecting this advice naturally the trend of usage gets reduced. This was a real pick-pocketing and a cheating web advice-advertisement. This conscientious senior citizen approached the Federal Ombudsman requesting that since this advertisement/web advice was misleading benefiting only the commercial KESC hence in the collective larger interest of all civic minded citizens who are obey by habit, I prayed the Ombudsman to remove this so called awareness campaign advertisement-advice. Federal Ombudsman the protector of citizens rights completely ignored my pocket having been emptied for months for unconsumed units refused even to formally process my complaint, listen both myself and then deliver his Decision whatsoever but his office turned down my complaint at the very outset saying that I was not an aggrieved. In old good old days this wonderful system created by the so called dictator General Ziauul Haq's worked really as protector of citizens rights. I was then working abroad. I learnt one day out of my office duty that a ship carrying nuclear waste was heading towards Pakistan suspected to discharge its cargo somewhere near Pakistan sea boarders. I approached the Federal Ombudsman. The then ombudsman, of an effective ombudsman system did not throw me out right from his outer door saying that sitting abroad I had no concern with the ship hence not aggrieved. He not merely processed my complaint even in his Decision he ordered the authorities in Pakistan to remain vigilant and stop this ship. The whole ombudsman system in Pakistan in the views of this senior citizen today is delivering very little proportionate to what the nation is spending on whole of this system. The Federal Ombudsman has a website naturally on which a good is being spent to run and maintain it. Another example may perhaps more suffix. There is a list of Departments on its web purportedly and supposedly, against which ordinarily a layman like me can take it a complaint can be filed. Till recently Pakistan Banking Council was listed on this list. On my surprising enquiry about it only recently name of it appears to has disappeared. Today Tuesday 1st February 2011, I find name of the Punjab Police Department which wonders me as there exists an independent Punjab Ombudsman. The Name of Bankers Equity is there which, if my memories are not misguiding me in this old age, more than 15 years back took last breath. Name of Majlis-e-Shura Secretariat is there which is very significant. The wonders name of Federal Tax Ombudsman is there! Knowing well that the Honourable Supreme Court can not normally be requested as so far the appointment has not officially been notified yet this senior citizen most respectfully prays My Lordship the Chief Justice of Pakistan that the proposed appointment of Justice ® Hamid Dogar in the interest of the suffering ordinary man, real cheap justice and in the larger interest of the development of ombudsman system be taken note of. Imran Khan three days back rightly diagnosed that the only solution to save the country was in creation of a true honest new accountability/ehtisab process under the control of persons like Air Marshal ® Asghar Khan, Justice ® Aslam Nassar Zahid. No Government of the time after Ziaul Haq had ever been really honest in true justice hence never appointed Justice ® Aslam Nassar Zahid as Ombudsman, provincial or federal who really is the most suitable person for the job. Mr. Justice ® Rana Baghwandas is another great option for such sacred posts. The whole matter can be understood from the example how late Salman Taseer for "obvious reasons" for a considerable time delayed appointment of the Punjab Ombudsman and the PML(N) the first job did in acting Governor tenure was hurriedly appointing the Provincial Ombudsman and there had been fighting over it between the two parties. Why should one worry about my man, No my man for appointment of an Ombudsman, a Judge, a Qadhi as all of these are supposed to be men of honour, conscious, honesty ALLAH fearing justice to dispense of justice and only true and honest justice and not to be "man of anybody" unless!
In the contempt case against PCO judges, the Counsel of one such PCO judge stated that his client had already submitted his statement that at the time of taking oath he was not aware of any restraining order. The Counsel argued that as a matter of principle hence when a Judge submits such a statement it should be accepted. This senior citizen does not remember the name but definitely remembers a retired Colonel resident of Westridge Rawalpindi used to write weekly columns in Daily DAWN. He was a cancer patient. Since perhaps two years his columns are not appearing. The topic of his columns mostly was issues relating to communication technology, telecommunication etc. He was most probably retired from the Signals Battalion. He once made a complaint against some international telephone calls billed to him he never made and the called parties not known to him. In his column he included a very meaningful sentence that the words in his sworn in Affidavit were not trusted but the words of PTCL without any Affidavit were found more trustworthy by the Federal Ombudsman Office for arriving at decision in favour of PTCL.
These are fair, just, honest views of this senior citizen who blindly believes on S.M. Zafar's 1986 wording that no parliament, no assembly, no presidentialism, no socialism or any other ism can deliver unless the people themselves did not recognize and struggled against injustices. Based on this and the diagnosis by the most Honourable late Mr. Justice ® Sardar Mohammad Iqbal the first and so far unmatched for Ombudsman Pakistan that the society in itself was criminal that it remains silent on injustices through hands of bureaucrats, this senior citizen has his firms unshakable belief that the solution to common man's daily street level civic issues lies only and only in strengthening of the ombudsman system but a true, honest, independent, judicious and ALLAH fearing Ombudsman on the seat. Though out of context but I wish to record that most honourable Mr. S.M. Zafar once in writing conveyed to this senior citizen that his so much interest in the Federal Ombudsman was in fact his share in strengthening the ombudsman system in Pakistan.
There can be no second opinion that Justice ® Dogar was a controversial figure. Even before his taking oath when speculation about his possible appointment immediately after Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhary became dysfunctional, some critical views about him appeared in press and TV. He became clearly controversial when the matter of his daughter re; award of upward examination numbers by the Islamabad Educational Board to her daughter as a scandal. It is rightly believed that the Head of the Parliamentary Committee volatile Abid Sher MNA investigating this scandal for some âmysteriousâ unknown reasons all of a sudden sealed his lips on the issue. The issue then became the most hot topic in the country. Our new born judiciary which is taking deep interest in scandalous issues affecting national interests rightly and very wisely did not take notice of this hot issue as suo moto because this would had made by Musharraf & Associates a politicized one for their own advantage.
3rd November 2007 evening about 07.00 â 07.30 pm hardly was there any TV set in Pakistan switched off including those of Pakistanis abroad, the viewers saw the Chief Justice coming down the stairs of the SC Building after a long meeting discussing any possible emergency, when a shalwar-kameez wearing plain cloth swiftly came forward towards the Chief Justice and tried in vain to hand him over his mobile which the CJ refused to take. A few minutes later all these viewers saw live the CJ sitting in his car going home. The TV reporters present their telecast live all these scenes since hours repeatedly updating the viewers that the 7-member Bench after this late hour sitting and deliberations had issued a short Order restraining the Government from declaring any Emergency. The Order as per those live telecasts also directed the judges all over Pakistan to refrain from taking any oath in such an event. This announcement as a news item was repeated every 10-15 minutes the whole night and the next day. The Court of Justice Hamid Dogar had all along been controversial in as much that many prominent lawyers declared that they would not appear in the Court where Justice ® Dogar was presiding. At the same time it is a reality that the then existing Court even during the whole night falling between 3rd @ 4th November 2007 was a valid Court about the legal validity of which had never even a single finger ever been raised or any controversial remark till today ever heard of. I had earlier not heard the name of Mr. Justice ® Hamid Dogar but immediately the image of his legal personality changed in the eyes of this senior citizen when he dame caring put the Order of a valid legal court on his foot and took oath on PCO. A person who did not care and respect the Orders of a valid Court can not in the views of this senior citizen ever deliver true justice under principles of natural justice.
Early last year His Excellency Mr. Asif Ali Zardari showed his concern as to why the Federal Ombudsman had become ineffective and resolved to look into it. The Minister Babar Awan in the Assembly stated that this concern will be investigated. However as anything said today is not a word of Hadith, this remained just a word from the lips. The effectiveness of the whole ombudsman system in Pakistan has no doubt since long deteriorated the main reason of which is that the officials working in this system while take note of other's non obeying procedures as an act of mal administration themselves hardly observe the rules or procedures since most of them are enjoying re-employment after retirement and feel them exempt from abeyance of rules. For example there is a rule prescribed by the Federal Ombudsman himself that every investigation officer every three month would inform the complainant progress on his complaint. The good rule is in books only. I can holding Holy Quran solemnly affirm that during the last 15 years I have never even once ever received any such three monthly progress. After reminders over reminders a response is received. Someone a few years back rightly stated the ombudsman system is an employment exchange for the retired. The ombudsman system in Pakistan in its earlier years despite inexperience and teething problems played a marvelous role in dispensation of true natural justice. There are shining examples good for students of law to read which I can provide if needed. What is the condition today can be judged from one example. The KESC on its web has created a sort of awareness forum under which it advises citizens not to waste but preserve the electricity in the national interest. When as a conscientious civic minded citizen I acted on this advice I was severely punished for this sin of obedience to the national interest. When I saved energy ensuring not to use it even a single minute without the dire need, for 5-6 continuous months my residence bill came too heavily for still unutilized units. The units shown in the meter as the "Current Reading" were bogus as those readings on the meter were still months to reach. A huge money for all these months was pulled out from my money as punishment for my using less units. The response from KESC was that since my current trend of usage was not consistent to the previous months usage hence the excessive billings When the KESC advices people of Karachi not to waste electricity, on obeying and respecting this advice naturally the trend of usage gets reduced. This was a real pick-pocketing and a cheating web advice-advertisement. This conscientious senior citizen approached the Federal Ombudsman requesting that since this advertisement/web advice was misleading benefiting only the commercial KESC hence in the collective larger interest of all civic minded citizens who are obey by habit, I prayed the Ombudsman to remove this so called awareness campaign advertisement-advice. Federal Ombudsman the protector of citizens rights completely ignored my pocket having been emptied for months for unconsumed units refused even to formally process my complaint, listen both myself and then deliver his Decision whatsoever but his office turned down my complaint at the very outset saying that I was not an aggrieved. In old good old days this wonderful system created by the so called dictator General Ziauul Haq's worked really as protector of citizens rights. I was then working abroad. I learnt one day out of my office duty that a ship carrying nuclear waste was heading towards Pakistan suspected to discharge its cargo somewhere near Pakistan sea boarders. I approached the Federal Ombudsman. The then ombudsman, of an effective ombudsman system did not throw me out right from his outer door saying that sitting abroad I had no concern with the ship hence not aggrieved. He not merely processed my complaint even in his Decision he ordered the authorities in Pakistan to remain vigilant and stop this ship. The whole ombudsman system in Pakistan in the views of this senior citizen today is delivering very little proportionate to what the nation is spending on whole of this system. The Federal Ombudsman has a website naturally on which a good is being spent to run and maintain it. Another example may perhaps more suffix. There is a list of Departments on its web purportedly and supposedly, against which ordinarily a layman like me can take it a complaint can be filed. Till recently Pakistan Banking Council was listed on this list. On my surprising enquiry about it only recently name of it appears to has disappeared. Today Tuesday 1st February 2011, I find name of the Punjab Police Department which wonders me as there exists an independent Punjab Ombudsman. The Name of Bankers Equity is there which, if my memories are not misguiding me in this old age, more than 15 years back took last breath. Name of Majlis-e-Shura Secretariat is there which is very significant. The wonders name of Federal Tax Ombudsman is there! Knowing well that the Honourable Supreme Court can not normally be requested as so far the appointment has not officially been notified yet this senior citizen most respectfully prays My Lordship the Chief Justice of Pakistan that the proposed appointment of Justice ® Hamid Dogar in the interest of the suffering ordinary man, real cheap justice and in the larger interest of the development of ombudsman system be taken note of. Imran Khan three days back rightly diagnosed that the only solution to save the country was in creation of a true honest new accountability/ehtisab process under the control of persons like Air Marshal ® Asghar Khan, Justice ® Aslam Nassar Zahid. No Government of the time after Ziaul Haq had ever been really honest in true justice hence never appointed Justice ® Aslam Nassar Zahid as Ombudsman, provincial or federal who really is the most suitable person for the job. Mr. Justice ® Rana Baghwandas is another great option for such sacred posts. The whole matter can be understood from the example how late Salman Taseer for "obvious reasons" for a considerable time delayed appointment of the Punjab Ombudsman and the PML(N) the first job did in acting Governor tenure was hurriedly appointing the Provincial Ombudsman and there had been fighting over it between the two parties. Why should one worry about my man, No my man for appointment of an Ombudsman, a Judge, a Qadhi as all of these are supposed to be men of honour, conscious, honesty ALLAH fearing justice to dispense of justice and only true and honest justice and not to be "man of anybody" unless!
In the contempt case against PCO judges, the Counsel of one such PCO judge stated that his client had already submitted his statement that at the time of taking oath he was not aware of any restraining order. The Counsel argued that as a matter of principle hence when a Judge submits such a statement it should be accepted. This senior citizen does not remember the name but definitely remembers a retired Colonel resident of Westridge Rawalpindi used to write weekly columns in Daily DAWN. He was a cancer patient. Since perhaps two years his columns are not appearing. The topic of his columns mostly was issues relating to communication technology, telecommunication etc. He was most probably retired from the Signals Battalion. He once made a complaint against some international telephone calls billed to him he never made and the called parties not known to him. In his column he included a very meaningful sentence that the words in his sworn in Affidavit were not trusted but the words of PTCL without any Affidavit were found more trustworthy by the Federal Ombudsman Office for arriving at decision in favour of PTCL.
These are fair, just, honest views of this senior citizen who blindly believes on S.M. Zafar's 1986 wording that no parliament, no assembly, no presidentialism, no socialism or any other ism can deliver unless the people themselves did not recognize and struggled against injustices. Based on this and the diagnosis by the most Honourable late Mr. Justice ® Sardar Mohammad Iqbal the first and so far unmatched for Ombudsman Pakistan that the society in itself was criminal that it remains silent on injustices through hands of bureaucrats, this senior citizen has his firms unshakable belief that the solution to common man's daily street level civic issues lies only and only in strengthening of the ombudsman system but a true, honest, independent, judicious and ALLAH fearing Ombudsman on the seat. Though out of context but I wish to record that most honourable Mr. S.M. Zafar once in writing conveyed to this senior citizen that his so much interest in the Federal Ombudsman was in fact his share in strengthening the ombudsman system in Pakistan.