ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Director-General, Haji Adam, was dismissed from service over allegations of sexually harassing a female employee.
Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplaces Kashmala Tariq on Thursday ordered the dismissal of former DG PEMRA. Moreover, co-accused PEMRA General Manager Fakhruddin was demoted and issued a penalty of Rs500,000.
In her order, Kashmala Tariq stated that a woman, who was working at Pemra’s headquarter in Islamabad, had filed an online complaint with the ombudsperson on January 20, 2020, accusing Haji Adam of harassing her.
Quoting the complainant, the order said when she refused “sexual favours” to Adam, his behaviour turned “rude, disgusting and demeaning” towards her. “Bringing all the pieces of evidence together the complainant has proved her allegation that Adam sexually harassed her,” it added.
On the other hand, Adam failed to substantiate his stance that he had been falsely implicated in the case by the complainant “at the instigation and conspiracy of someone else”, the order stated.
The ombudsperson said action was to be taken against Adam under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, and directed that he be dismissed from service and pay Rs2m in compensation to the complainant.
Kashmala Tariq also directed PEMRA authorities to install CCTV cameras everywhere in the office’s premises to avoid such incidents. She also ordered the formation of an anti-harassment committee to address such complaints.
At this, the former PEMRA DG had reached out to the Islamabad High Court. However, his plea challenging Tariq’s orders was rejected by the high court.
