Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment Kashmala Tariq has decided to dismiss the head of mission of the Pakistani embassy in Italy after allegations of harassment were proved.
Nadeem Riaz, Pakistan’s head of mission in Italy, was accused by Saira Imdad Ali, a Grade 20 officer in the Ministry of Commerce, of harassment at the workplace.
The ombudsperson sacked Nadeem and imposed a fine of Rs5 million, which would be paid to the complainant as compensation, and directed that a copy of the decision should be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within seven days.
In her complaint, Saira had stated that while she was stationed at the Pakistani mission in Italy in 2018, Nadeem, who was heading it, asked her to visit other cities in other countries, which was not related to her employment.
She said that the mission head also forced her to keep her residence near his residence.
She further said that Nadeem forced her to listen to his stories on a daily basis, the language of which was objectionable.
Federal Ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq has urged the female students to know their rights and shed fear while working with men.
She was addressing an awareness seminar against harassment at the workplace in University of Engineering Technology (UET) to create awareness among the youth regarding harassment especially women.
Kashmala Khan, Federal Ombudsperson, Federal Ombudsmen Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) was the chief guest on the occasion.
The event was attended by a large number of students and staff.
Kashmala said, FOSPAH was established in 2010 and has worked a lot in the field through online complaint registration. She informed the audience on how to approach FOSPAH for protection in case women face harassment at workplaces.
She said FOSPAH is aimed to protect women so that they could work without any fear, adding, “that all of us have to stand up, speak up against harassment”.
She urged the students to get rid of fear and know their rights while working with men. She said, FOSPAH will ensure that women get justice provided that they are aware which institutions are to be approached for reporting. She urged the need to have a harassment committee at universities so that matters for timely solution of cases, adding, FOSPAH assures to extend free legal counseling support and register appeals.
Regional Commissioner, Peshawar Rubab Mehdi in her address said, the harassment cases have tripled in the present tenure, however property rights and financial empowerment for women are the focal areas for FOSPAH.
Vice Chancellor UET Peshawar Professor Dr Iftikhar Hussain said UET Peshawar has established a proper grievance redressal system for any such case.
