Public interest complaints: President directs FTO to produce complete record

ISLAMABAD: The President of Pakistan has directed the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to produce the complete record pertaining to public interest complaints moved by international constitutional lawyer Muhammad Azhar Siddique, Chairman of the Judicial Activism Panel (JAP), and has suspended the operation of the orders passed by FTO pending disposal of the representation.

The order was issued vide F.No. 598 TO 600/FTO/2026 dated 17th September 2026 by the President’s Secretariat (Public), in response to a representation filed by JAP against the order of the FTO in complaints against FBR alleged corrupt practices.

The President’s directive stated that attention is invited towards Section 14 (2) of the Federal Ombudsman Institutional Reforms Act 2013, which provides that operation of the impugned order, decision, findings or recommendation shall remain suspended for a period of sixty days, if the representation is made to the President.

The Director General (Legal Affairs), has directed the office of the FTO to furnish attested copies of the complete record, including the initial complaints, subsequent orders, the department’s reply, the complainant’s rejoinder (if any), and all enclosures, annexures, judgments and laws relied upon during the proceedings, to the President’s Secretariat “at the earliest” for processing the representation.

An electronic/soft copy of the FTO’s order has also been sought in MS Word format at dg.legal@president.gov.pk.

The FBR, as the agency concerned, has similarly been directed to submit its written comments, in both hard and soft form, within seven days, failing which the case will be decided by the competent authority on the basis of the available record alone. The Secretariat has further sought specific dates on when the impugned order was passed and dispatched by the Ombudsman’s Secretariat, and when it was received by the parties.

Copies of the order have been marked to the Chairman FBR, Islamabad, and the Registrar, FTO Secretariat, Islamabad, for necessary action, besides Azhar Siddique for information, the President order added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026