In a significant legal development, the President’s Secretariat has overturned a ruling by the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH), clearing Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited (KMBL), its Board of Directors and several of its senior executives who were previously charged with gender-based discrimination under a complainant’s claim.
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The case originated from a complaint filed by a former KMBL executive, who alleged that she was subjected to discriminatory treatment in payment of “ex-gratia” on her separation from the bank. In November 2024, FOSPAH ruled in her favor, concluding that the complainant had been denied “ex-gratia” payment by the Board of KMBL because of her gender.
In response, KMBL along with the Directors and senior executives contested the verdict and filed an appeal, arguing that the dispute centered on “ex-gratia” payment, which the Board had approved in a very few cases based on performance of the individual as well as that of the bank. KMBL argued that the Board had approved other “ex-gratia” relief in terms of concessions in mark –up rate etc. KMBL argued that complainant just wanted more money than what was unanimous decided by the board, based on financial constraints and not on discriminatory intent.
The President’s Secretariat, in response to the Bank’s appeal against FOSPAH’s ruling, found that the complainant was in fact given the severance package as per the banks policy and established that the payment or non-payment of “ex-gratia” is not a barometer to determine harassment or discrimination. The Secretariat also challenged the Ombudsmen for basing the decision on the nonpayment of ex gratia, as no law describes it as gender discrimination.
It further found out that FOSPAH had not fully considered the bank’s evidence and that procedural fairness was lacking. It was concluded that the complaint stemmed from a financial disagreement instead of constituting workplace harassment.
The President of Pakistan’s Secretariat, thus, set aside the FOSPAH’s ruling, clearing KMBL, its Board of Directors and its executives of the charges.
