IBA fails to submit written reply in harassment case

Continues to take adverse action against the faculty member who lodged complaint

KARACHI:

Despite several weeks of proceedings, the Institute of Business Administration has faltered in submitting its written response for an ongoing harassment case before the provincial Ombudsman. 

Furthermore, during the mandatory hearing on July 25, which was attended by the university's Registrar Dr. Asad Ilyas, one of the accused, the plaintiff's legal team apprised the Ombudsman of adverse actions taken against their client subsequent to the preceding hearing on July 10. 

As per the information obtained by The Express Tribune, the Ombudsman had issued a clear directive, explicitly forbidding any negative actions against the complainant, Lecturer, Ms Zahra Sabri, by the higher administration of the IBA. Nevertheless, on July 12th, Sabri was removed from a pre-scheduled interview panel, which she later shared in an email correspondence addressed to the faculty. 

Commenting on the proceedings, Basil Nabi Malik, Advocate Supreme Court, and Sabri’s representative, asserted, "During the most recent hearing, we brought to the court's attention that the IBA, through its Executive Director and HR Director, has continued to take adverse actions against our client despite the ongoing proceedings." Malik added, "In response to our submissions, the learned Ombudsman has directed the Executive Director and HR Director to personally appear during the forthcoming hearing to account for their actions." 

Previously, an internal IBA inquiry committee tasked with investigating a gender-based harassment complaint against the registrar had declared, in its report, that the university's administration was complicit in discriminatory actions against Sabri. Sources familiar with the case have revealed that instead of releasing the report to the complainant, she was issued a show cause notice, alleging her protest against the administration's decision to withhold the report. 

Speaking anonymously due to concerns of potential repercussions from the university’s administration, faculty members have affirmed that Sabri has also voiced concerns regarding recent changes in HR policies at IBA. According to Sabri’s email, these alterations appear to be designed to suppress and mete out penalties for criticism, all the while hastening the arbitrary termination of employees. Reliable sources familiar with the situation confirmed that in an email distributed to faculty members on Friday, Sabri had also drawn attention to sudden and unexplained changes in the university’s Anti-harassment policy. 

Based on the oral proceedings before the Ombudsman on the last date of hearing, IBA's Executive Director has been directed by the Ombudsman to personally appear on August 7th. 

The Express Tribune reached out to Maryam Touheed, the spokesperson for IBA, for a statement regarding the issue. However, no response or comment was received at the time of publication.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2023.