After the charges of blackmailing and sexually harassing a female employee at MEPCO were proven, President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the penalty of “dismissal from service” imposed upon Khizer Hayat, Assistant Director and enhanced the amount of the fine from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1 million.
He also upheld the penalty of “reduction to lower post” imposed upon Mian Sohail Afzal, Director (Admin), for three years and increased the fine from Rs 1 million to Rs 1.1 million to be paid as compensation to the victim, a President House press release said. He also upheld the exoneration of Sohail Abbas, Deputy Director, and Jamshed Ahmed Niazi, Director, as no cogent evidence or substance was available against them to prove them guilty of the charge beyond any shadow of a doubt. The president gave these orders while rejecting two representations filed separately by Khizer Hayat and Mian Sohail Afzal against the orders of the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH) imposing fines and major penalties upon the two officers. A female Commercial Assistant at Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) had filed a complaint before FOSPAH against four employees stating that they hacked her mobile data, made sexual demands, got published false news items against her, and demanded Rs 500,000 from her to stop the series of news from its further publication. In his decision, President Alvi stated that a good message had to be sent to society that we would ensure the protection of women against harassment so that our women feel safe in the working environment of the country and our families were confident that if women get harassed.
