NADRA deputy chairman accused of harassing female employee

National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) is making the rounds these days in the news for a harassment case by its deputy chairman. What is unusual about this case is that this is the first time that such a high-ranking official has been issued a charge sheet for alleged harassment case.

According to reports, the Deputy Chairman of NADRA, Syed Muzafar Ali, has been accused of harassing and providing undue favor to Deputy Assistant Director Syeda Shaheen Bukhari. However, he has denied all these charges and maintains that he has not done any such things.

“The fact-finding board have already found Syed Muzafar Ali, Deputy Chairman of NADRA as guilty, proceedings against him have been started within the organisation,” said a key official at NADRA when contacted by The News here on Monday.

The matter was highlighted when Bukhari herself appeared in a press conference and claimed that she has been sexually harassed by her boss. On June 2, 2017, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle also sent a copy of the complaint filed by Syed Mohammad Zubair Shah Bukhari, a maternal uncle of the Syed Shaheen Bukhari to NADRA.

In the letter, FIA had asked NADRA to conduct a fact-finding Inquiry by fixing the responsibility against the delinquent person(s) and if any criminality is found the same may be sent to FIA for further necessary action as per law.

A three-member fact-finding committee was formed as a result and its findings indicated that “Syeda Shaheen Bukhari, was intentionally implicated in various inquiries and she was harassed and ill-treated by the concerned officer”.

When the deputy chairman was asked for explanation, he did respond to any such requests and even misbehaved with the board-members when he was approached for his side of the story.

When approached deputy chairman NADRA Syed Muzafar Ali, he sent his written reply which is as follows: “All previous inquiries against the officer were neither initiated nor closed by me. Her transfer or promotion case was handled much before my joining of HR Dte or working as Dy. Chairman. Only one medical bills case was initiated during my tenure and that too with full knowledge of Chairman and HR/Vigilance Dte. The officer did not even make me respondent in her initial writ petitions at High Court”.

Muzafar said he only once gave her uncle and brother a personal hearing and that too in presence of director human resource.

“I don’t understand from where the word “harassment ” comes and of what type. In fact, I directed two senior most lady officers to take options from her and post her to a conducive working environment where she feels comfortable to perform and the same has been done.”

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Aug 22 2017. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.