DNA

Islamabad, July 24,: Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment Ms. Kashmla Tariq called on President Dr. Arif Alvi, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today. She briefed the President about Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection against Harassment (FOSPAH)’s role in creating harassment-free working environment. She informed the President that her institution provided speedy justice and 93% of the registered cases had been disposed of. She said that the Ombudsman had created awareness by holding seminars and press conferences and as a result of that marked increase in the number of cases had been witnessed. The Federal Ombudsman remarked that women represented over 50 percent of Pakistan’s population and they needed to be provided safe working environment.

President Arif Alvi appreciated FOSPAH’s role in the provision of speedy and cheaper justice to the people. He said that the institution needed to be further strengthened so that speedy justice could be provided to the people. He underscored the need for initiating awareness campaigns through print and digital media so as to sensitize the people about the role of Ombudsman in quick redressal of their complaints.

It is worth-stating that FOSPAH is an autonomous quasi-judicial statutory body working for the protection against harassment at workplace. It aims to create harassment-free working environment. Recently, the Government of Pakistan has empowered FOSPAH, under “Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020”, to decide cases related to inheritance of women.