• He held that it had been established beyond any reasonable doubt that the female employee was harassed by the accused with verbal, vulgar, sexual, and demeaning comment.
• President observed that he took a strong exception and used the full force of the law when such matters were brought to light
• He ordered that the amount of compensation shall be recovered from arrears of pay (if any), pension emoluments or any other source (property) of the Appellan

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi, while upholding the decision of the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH), has awarded the major penalty of “Dismissal from Service” to a Director General of PEMRA (the Appellant) and also enhanced the fine from Rs. 20 lacs to Rs. 25 lacs.

He held that it had been established beyond any reasonable doubt that the female employee was harassed by the accused with verbal, vulgar, sexual, and demeaning comments and demands by the Appellant.

The President observed that he took a strong exception and used the full force of the law when such matters were brought to light and were proven beyond doubt to ensure a safe working environment for the female gender.

The President ordered that the amount of compensation shall be recovered from arrears of pay (if any), pension emoluments or any other source (property) of the Appellant.

This landmark decision was announced after the President gave personal prolonged hearings to the accused, the complainant and their counsels on 22.07.2022 and 25.07.2022, besides factoring in the evidence and recording the statements of the witnesses on record and minutely perusing the entire proceedings of the case.

In his decision, the President noted that the accused continued harassing the complainant unabated even during the proceedings of the case by FOSPAH, in his suspension period, by filing applications against the complainant to IG Police, Islamabad and to DG (FIA), Cyber Crime Wing, Islamabad, thus, inflicting grave mental torture to the complainant and putting her repute at stake.

In his order, the President wrote that women, who were more than 50% of our society, were unable to work freely because of possible harassment.

He said that Islam kept women in high esteem and provided them with the right to pursue gainful occupations and employment by ensuring a safe, secure, dignified and respectful workplace environment.

Keeping in view the established facts of the case, the President directed the relevant authority to implement the order in letter and spirit and furnish compliance to Registrar FOSPAH within the stipulated period.

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