Federal Authority Fires DG PEMRA for Harassing a Female Subordinate

Unfortunately, harassment at workplaces has increased over the passage of time even after the government put some stringent measures to tackle it. One such incident happened at the office of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Consequently, the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplaces, Kashmala Tariq issued the orders for the dismissal of DG HR PEMRA, Haji Adam, from service after he was indicted of sexually harassing a female subordinate.

Federal Authority Fires DG PEMRA for Harassing a Female Subordinate

The Ombudsperson has also ordered Haji Adam to pay a fine of Rs. 2 million as a settlement to the victim. In addition to that, the Ombudsperson has also released the orders for the demotion of the then spokesperson PEMRA, Fakhruddin Mughal, as the latter was also involved in facilitating Haji Adam in reaching the victim. The Ombudsperson has also ordered Fakhruddin Mughal to pay a fine of Rs. 500,000 as compensation to the victim.

The verdict was announced under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 after both PEMRA officials failed to prove that the victim had wrongly accused them. Apart from that, the Ombudsperson has written a letter to Chairman PEMRA to place CCTV cameras in each room of the PEMRA headquarters to avert similar incidents in the future. The ombudsperson also asked the chairman to form an anti-harassment committee to investigate such matters.

Furthermore, according to details, the then DG HR PEMRA had sexually harassed a female subordinate at the PEMRA headquarters in Islamabad back in November 2019. The director tried to misuse his authority by forcing the female employee into giving sexual favors. Though, his behavior turned hostile towards her after she refused to meet his lustful desires.

Afterward, the female employee showed some courage and registered a complaint against the incident in the office of Federal Ombudsperson in January 2020, whose verdict has been issued today.

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