ISLAMABAD: Public and private offices in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar will now be fined up to Rs100,000 for not forming anti-harassment committees at workplaces, local media reported on Tuesday.
Pakistan reports hundreds of cases of harassment and crimes against women every year. Earlier this year, the public assault of a woman at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan monument and the gang rape of a mother and her daughter by a rickshaw driver and his accomplices led to widespread public outrage and calls on authorities to ensure the safety of women in public places.
The decision to fine such workplaces in Peshawar was taken by the Provincial Ombudsperson for Anti-Harassment Rakhshunda Naz on Tuesday. So far, 40 organizations, including schools, banks and health centers, have been fined for delaying the constitution of harassment committees, SAMAA TV reported.
“The committees have to play reconciliatory roles in harassment cases,” the report read. “They are responsible for taking up problems between complainants and respondents and finding an amicable solution.”
Naz first issued the orders earlier this year, instructing organizations in the city to nominate three women for the committee and submit their names in the ombudsperson’s office.
In January 2020, the KP Assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
In October this year, Pakistan’s parliament approved changes to the country’s workplace harassment law to widen the meaning of harassment, who is considered an employee and who can lodge a complaint. However, the amendments were only applicable to Islamabad, according to the report.
After the parliament approved amendments to the definition of harassment, it is no longer limited to just sexual crimes.
It now includes “any unwanted behavior which creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment on the basis of age, disability, gender, religion or belief, and race or sexual orientation,” the report added.
Fines for offices in Pakistan’s Peshawar that fail to set up anti-harassment committees
https://arab.news/g3r2y
Fines for offices in Pakistan’s Peshawar that fail to set up anti-harassment committees
- Pakistan reports hundreds of cases of harassment and crimes against women every year
- In Oct, parliament approved changes to country’s law to widen definition of harassment
Pakistan imposes three-day curfew in Gilgit, Skardu cities after violent Khamenei protests
- At least 14 people were killed in the region where protesters burned UN offices, police station, school and a local charity
- Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman says the situation is under control, police chief urges the residents to stay indoors
ISLAMABAD: Authorities have deployed troops and imposed a three-day curfew in the northern Pakistani cities of Gilgit and Skardu, according to a notification issued Monday, after over a dozen people were killed in clashes over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, where the two cities are located, saw violent clashes on Sunday as protesters set fire to and vandalized several buildings, including United Nations (UN) regional offices, army-run school, software technology park and an Aga Khan Rural Support Programme office.
Clashes with law enforcement agencies caused the deaths of at least 14 people in the region, among them a soldier, GB Caretaker Information Minister Ghulam Abbas confirmed told Arab News. He said around 50 others were injured.
“In wake of prevailing precarious law-and-order situation... it is expected that the situation may deteriorate further in Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly in District Gilgit and Skardu,” Deputy Home Secretary Ghulam Hasan said in a notification on Monday.
“It is therefore requested that Pakistan Army troops may be deployed in District Gilgit and Skardu and curfew may be imposed for an initial period of three days (2nd, 3rd and 4th March) to prevent any untoward incident and danger to human life and property.”
Separately, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that protesters became violent near the UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan (UNMOGIP) Field Station, which was vandalized.
“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday as police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors.
Anger has been rising in Pakistan, particularly among members of the Shiite minority, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Khamenei and other senior officials. While Shiites are a minority nationwide, they form a majority in some northern districts and boast significant numbers in major urban centers.
Demonstrators in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi also stormed the US Consulate on Sunday, smashing windows and attempting to burn the building. Police responded with batons, tear gas, and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.
The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore canceled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns. Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
Also Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange plunged, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling nearly 10 percent amid rising geopolitical tensions following attacks on Iran. Investors sold off shares across sectors, with analysts citing heightened uncertainty as the main driver behind the sharp decline.
Sunday’s unrest came amid ongoing cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which began Thursday after Afghanistan launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday. Pakistan has since carried out repeated operations along the border.
— With additional input from AP.
