How to Use the Pakistan Citizen's Portal to Complain

The Pakistan Citizen's Portal is the Prime Minister's complaint app. It connects you to government organisations at every level, federal and provincial, and it needs nothing more than your CNIC and a mobile number.

It is the widest net of the three complaint routes available to you, and the least formal. That is both its strength and its limit.

Getting registered

1. Download the Pakistan Citizen's Portal app. It is on Google Play, the App Store and the Huawei AppGallery.
2. Register with your CNIC and mobile number.
3. Confirm the verification SMS.
4. File your complaint, and take part in public polling if you want to.

That is the whole registration. No fee, no form, no office visit. A user guide manual is downloadable from citizenportal.gov.pk if you want the official version.

Who runs it, and why that matters

The portal is operated by the Prime Minister's Performance Delivery Unit, set up in 2013 and since reorganised. Its stated purpose is not only to resolve individual complaints but to hold government entities accountable for their performance, using the complaint data as the measure.

The practical consequence for you is that your complaint is routed to a named official at the responsible organisation, and that organisation's response is tracked. It is not a suggestion box.

PMDU also states a specific emphasis on facilitating overseas Pakistanis, women, people with disabilities and foreigners. If you are outside Pakistan and cannot walk into an office, this is the route built with you in mind.

Which office for which problem

This is where people lose weeks, so it is worth getting right before you file anything.

The two formal routes are covered separately in our guides to complaining to the Wafaqi Mohtasib and complaining about your bank.

You can use more than one. A Citizen's Portal complaint does not stop you filing with the Mohtasib later, and the portal reference number is useful evidence that you raised the matter and when.

How to write one that gets acted on

Somebody at the responsible organisation has to read your text and do something. Everything below is about making that easy.

• One problem per complaint. A list of six grievances gets assigned to one department that can only fix one of them.
• Name the specific office. Not "the excise department" but which office, on what date.
• Give dates and reference numbers. Application numbers, receipt numbers, token numbers.
• Say what outcome you want. "Issue the certificate" is actionable. "Take action" is not.
• Attach a photo of the receipt, the rejection slip or the document if you have one.
• Keep it short. Six clear lines beat two pages.

What happens after you file

Your complaint is assigned to the government organisation responsible for the subject you chose. That is why choosing the right category matters more than the wording: a complaint filed against the wrong department has to be reassigned before anyone can act, and that costs days.

You will get a reference number. Keep it. It is proof of the date you raised the matter, and it is useful later if you escalate to an ombudsman.

The organisation responds through the same system, so the reply appears in the app rather than by post or phone. Check it, because a request for more information sitting unanswered will stall the case indefinitely.

If the reply closes your complaint without fixing anything, that is not the end of the road. You can raise it again with the additional facts, and you can take the same matter to the Wafaqi Mohtasib if it concerns a federal department. A closed portal complaint with a weak reply is quite useful evidence at that stage, because it shows you tried.

What it will not do

Being straight about this saves disappointment.

It will not overturn a court decision, it will not substitute for a legal case, and it will not force an outcome that the rules do not allow. If your application was refused because you genuinely did not meet a requirement, a complaint will not change the requirement.

It is at its best where a body has been slow, unresponsive, inconsistent, or has asked for something it should not have. That covers a great deal of ordinary frustration with Pakistani officialdom.

Before you complain, check the process

A good share of complaints are really about not knowing what the office needed. If your issue is a stalled document, it is worth confirming the actual requirements first, since that is often faster than a complaint.

Our guides to applying for a CNIC, getting a domicile certificate and applying for a passport cover the three that generate the most confusion.

Questions readers are asking

Is the Pakistan Citizen's Portal free?

Yes. Registration and complaints cost nothing. You need a CNIC and a mobile number.

Can I complain about a provincial department?

Yes. The portal connects to government organisations at all levels, which is what distinguishes it from the Wafaqi Mohtasib, which covers federal agencies only.

Which app store is it on?

Google Play, the Apple App Store and the Huawei AppGallery.

Can overseas Pakistanis use it?

Yes, and PMDU states a specific emphasis on facilitating overseas Pakistanis, women, people with disabilities and foreigners.

Does filing here stop me going to the Mohtasib?

No. You can still file with the Wafaqi Mohtasib or Banking Mohtasib afterwards, and your portal reference number is useful evidence of when you first raised it.

What should I not use it for?

Court matters, and cases where your application was correctly refused for not meeting a requirement. It is most effective against delay, non-response and improper demands.