The Office of Ombudsman in Punjab has fallen vacant after expiry of the four-year term of veteran bureaucrat Khalid Mahmood who was inducted on 8th December 2008. The Provincial Ombudsman Punjab (POP) is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the people, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, diagnosing, redressing and rectifying any injustice done to a person through maladministration and suppressing corrupt practices.

It provides an inexpensive and quick redressal forum for the citizens aggrieved by maladministration of provincial government agencies/functionaries. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that there were many names under consideration for induction as Ombudsman including the name of former Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja M Sharif, Inspector General Police Javed Iqbal (Retd) and a few other former judges of the High Court and retired bureaucrats.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012