ISLAMABAD: The newly elected members of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), an association of significant newspapers and publishers in Pakistan, have been congratulated by President Dr. Arif Alvi.
The president congratulated Imtenan Shahid as senior vice president, Muhammad Aslam Qazi as vice president, S.M. Munir Jilani as joint secretary, Shahab Zuberi as finance secretary, and Naz Afreen Sehgal Lakhani and Sarmad Ali as the unanimously elected president and secretary general of the APNS. The newly elected APNS body was urged by President Alvi to take action to advance the nation’s mass media. He urged the media to support ethical and democratic values while also working to ensure peace and tolerance. The president emphasized the significance of newspapers in eradicating false information and educating the public about
Meanwhile, separately, President, Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated the Federal Tax Ombudsman Regional Office, Sukkur for immediate and free redressal of grievances against the federal tax institutions,
Addressing the occasion, the President said the regional office had been established to resolve the issues of the masses on a priority basis.
He said that the complaints related to federal tax authorities, including income tax, sales tax, customer and federal excise will be decided within a few days at the regional office Sukkur.
He further said that the regional office should take immediate action as soon as a complaint is submitted, adding that everyone should know that the office was a people-friendly institution, where tax-related issues were to be solved on a priority basis.
Federal Ombudsman Tax, Dr Muhammad Khawar Jameel also addressed the occasion.
Moreover, President Dr Arif Alvi has called for making fast decisions, being responsive to people’s needs, and providing speedy relief to the citizens in their complaints against the maladministration of government officials and agencies. He also urged the government officials to be fair and just in their dealings, and adopt an open-door policy for the facilitation of people and putting the country on the path of fast-paced socio-economic development. The president was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Federal Insurance Ombudsman’s (FIO) office in Sukkur. President Alvi stressed the need for instituting alternate dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to reduce the case burden on courts. Such a model had been quite successful in other countries and was also “in line with our culture”, he added. He said training in ADR mechanisms should be provided to government officials for the early resolution of public issues. The president also emphahsized the need for introducing crop insurance schemes to provide coverage to farmers against natural calamities. He said insurance coverage in Pakistan was quite low as compared to other regional countries, adding that more insurance products needed to be introduced in Pakistan. He stated that there was a lack of trust in insurance products in Pakistan, and the Federal Insurance Ombudsman was playing its role in ameliorating the situation. He said insurance companies had initiated pilot projects on crop insurance in Pakistan with the help of local and international funding. He added that the government would have to provide initial support and conducive environment in that regard. President Alvi said the Federal Insurance Ombudsman and the Banking Ombudsman were providing relief to people in cases involving insurance issues and bank frauds. He said most people were unaware of the services and the role of the five federal ombudsmen that were providing speedy justice within 60 days to people against the maladministration of government agencies, banks, insurance companies, tax authorities, and in cases of sexual harassment at workplaces and provision of property rights to women. He said people needed to be informed about the services of the federal ombudsmen that had already provided quick relief in thousands of cases. The president said modern communication means could help provide justice to greater number of complainants and help state institutions become more responsive to people’s needs. He said responsiveness had become essential for modern day governments and digital technologies were helping states in becoming more efficient and improving service delivery. The president said all the good decisions of the ombudspersons and government agencies should be publicized to create greater awareness about their services and role. Federal Tax Ombudsman Dr Muhammad Khawar Jameel highlighted the significant role played by the Insurance Ombudsman in facilitating the citizens. He also gave an outline of the steps taken by his office to address the grievances of general public regarding the insurance disputes.
