Islamabad - The Post Master General Islamabad who was demoted after a woman accused him of sexual harassment, has knocked the doors of President Mamnoon Hussain for reviewing the verdict of Federal Ombusman which he argues has favoured the lady. PMG Islamabad Badar Zaman was accused by a Lahore-based woman franchiser of Pakistan Post Office Sumbul Gul of sexually harassing her by initiating an illegal inquiry against her for committing fraud and looting public money.
Sumbul Gul, 33, accused PMG Badar Zaman, 57, of pressuring her to met him in Islamabad after the latter initiated inquiry against her for committing fraud worth Rs5 million without submitting the receipts of amount to the post office.
Sumbul Gul, in her petition, submitted to Judge Federal Ombudsman Justice (Retd) Yasmin Abbasey argued the PMG wanted her to meet him in Islamabad so that they both could strike a mutual partnership deal. “On my refusal to accept the partnership deal, the PMG implicated me in an illegal fraud,” Gul in her statement submitted to the ombudsman claimed.
However, the PMG argued that he initiated the inquiry against the woman franchiser under Anti Leakage of Revenue, adding he caught the fraud on February 28 this year, arguing the woman accused her of sexual harassment after he refused to accept any offer from the lady.
But Justice (Retd) Yasmin Abbsey concluded in the verdict that the PMG ignored rules and regulation in conducting inquiry and harassed the woman deliberately with mala fide intentions thus finally forcing her to close her franchise in Lahore. The verdict directed the higher authorities to demote the officer from Grade-20 to Grade-19 as punishment.
But Zaman, who according to his colleagues enjoys good reputation in postal services, has challenged the decision against him and has appealed to President Mamnoon Husssain to evaluate the verdict.
Under the law, the office of President is required to the dispose of the appeal within 90 days.