KARACHI: The former Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Ishrat Husain has urged the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan to expand his outreach to smaller towns and rural areas where public awareness is low and banking issues are often more severe than in major cities.
Emphasizing that administrative focus in Pakistan is overly concentrated in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, he called for stronger engagement at the grassroots level.
At the event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, he congratulated the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan on two decades of dedicated service and appreciated the institution’s critical role in providing affordable and timely justice through a quasi-judicial framework.
Highlighting the origins of the Ombudsman concept from developed nations, he emphasized its importance in offering citizens an alternative to lengthy and expensive litigation processes.
While commending BMP’s achievements, he stressed the need to expedite complaint resolution to avoid delays similar to the judicial system. He encouraged BMP to focus less on monetary figures and more on maximum redressal of complaint’s grievances.
Dr Ishrat Husain emphasised the importance of IT literacy across all levels of staff to improve productivity, regardless of age or technical background.
Regarding the BMP Annual Report, he praised its quality but proposed deeper analytical insights, including frequency and nature of complaints, He also urged upon inclusion of microfinance banks under BMP’s jurisdiction. He recommended the Report be discussed with stakeholders and submitted to the President for potential policy improvements.
He further suggested engaging with the Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) on sector wise issues and initiating bilateral discussions with individual banks facing higher complaint volumes to safeguard their reputations.
Former Justice Irfan Qadir Consultant (Legal Affairs) to the President of Pakistan, while recording his appreciation for the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, speaking at its 20th anniversary event, praised BMP’s remarkable efforts in protecting the rights of banking customers and emphasized the importance of legal integrity, speedy justice, and ethical conduct in public institutions.
He reflected on his experience over one and a half years as a Legal Consultant, during which he reviewed and adjudicated more than 500 representations covering a wide range of banking issues. These included spoofed calls, ATM fraud, digital banking transactions, IBFT issues, staff misconduct, loan and locker disputes, account blockages, succession matters, dormancy, and service deficiencies.
He noted that in nearly all cases, BMP had already provided thorough relief, and he was able to further enhance outcomes by including applicable mark-up or KIBOR, thereby reinforcing citizens’ rights.
He was in view that both BMP and the President’s Office where torchbearers of justice, ethics, and protection of fundamental rights.
He concluded by urging all public servants and legal professionals to act with a clean conscience and clear intent, drawing inspiration from the dedication shown by BMP and its leadership.
Earlier, Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, Sirajuddin Aziz presented welcome address. Yameen Farooqui Advisor BMP presented the vote of thanks at conclusion of the conference.
Zafar Masud, President Bank of Punjab and Chairman of Pakistan Banks’ Association spoke on IC- Miraculous Escape and Work Ethics at the conference.
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