LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari has upheld an interim order of the Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for Protection against Harassment at Workplace in a complaint of a female official of the Airport Security Force (ASF) against her chief security officer (CSO) and another senior colleague.

ASI Saira Nawab had filed a complaint with the ombudsperson, accusing CSO Col Nadeem Asif and Commanding Officer Zahida Bano of harassing, mistreating and manhandling her at their Islamabad office.

The complainant said she, after obtaining a prior appointment, went to the office of the CSO to make a formal request for her transfer to Dera Ismail Khan due to the serious health condition of her mother. She alleged that the CSO had harassed her by uttering inappropriate words, insulted her and asked the commanding officer to push her out of the office, which she obeyed.

The suspects challenged the jurisdiction of the ombudsperson to hear the complaint but their objection was rejected.

In the dismissal order, the ombudsperson said, “So far as the veracity of the complaint is concerned, it can be determined after conducting further proceedings. The application filed by the accused is therefore dismissed.” The ombudsperson had directed both parties – the complainant and the accused – to come up for preliminary hearing. However, both the accused filed a representation before the president against the ombudsman’s order.

After hearing both sides, Irfan Qadir, consultant of legal affairs at the President House, noted that the contents of the complaint made no mention of any kind of sexual harassment. However, the complaint pointed out the existence of some kind of hostile environment at the workplace. He said the accused challenged an interim order wherein the question of jurisdiction had been determined by the ombudsperson and the main case was yet to be decided.

“As such it would be in the fitness of things not to interfere in the impugned order at this stage,” said a Sept 19 order passed on behalf of the president.

However, the order recommended to the ombudsperson to determine, before proceedings further in the matter, whether the allegations in the complaint made this a case of scuffle or constituted any kind of sexual or gender-based harassment or creation of hostile environment by a male member of the office against some female members keeping in the fact that there were females on both sides.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024