KARACHI: A senior officer of Pakistan Railways has been accused of allegedly harassing a female officer, who has submitted a written complaint to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Railways, Reliable sources told .
Sources said the woman officer, distressed by the situation, approached the railway authorities seeking protection and a formal inquiry into what she described in her complaint as harassment by the senior officer.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the complaint was submitted in writing to the CEO. However, contrary to reports circulating within the department that an inquiry committee had already been constituted, sources said no formal committee, with the names of its members, had been communicated to the complainant so far.
The sources described the reported constitution of the committee as “a story without substance”, saying that the complainant had neither been informed officially about the formation of such a committee nor told who would conduct the inquiry.
The woman officer subsequently met the federal Minister for Railways and explained her complaint and the circumstances that had prompted her to seek departmental intervention, sources said. However, no visible action has so far been taken on her complaint, according to people familiar with the matter.
The officer has reportedly proceeded on leave after becoming increasingly upset over the situation. Sources said she took the step partly to distance herself from the circumstances at the workplace while awaiting a response from the competent authorities.
Railway sources in Karachi said the matter had generated concern among some employees, particularly over whether complaints involving workplace harassment were being dealt with through a transparent and formally documented mechanism.
Under Pakistan’s workplace-harassment law, complaints of harassment are required to be dealt with through prescribed institutional mechanisms. Officials and employees who approach competent authorities are entitled to expect that their complaints will be examined impartially and that the complainant will not face retaliation or an adverse workplace environment for raising a grievance.
Sources also claimed that the senior officer had domestic difficulties, including strained relations with his spouse, who is said to be a senior government officer in Punjab. However, these personal circumstances could not independently be verified and their relevance to the departmental complaint could not be established.
The central issue, according to sources, is therefore whether the woman officer’s written complaint has been formally taken up and whether an independent and credible inquiry has actually been initiated.
Railway employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said the matter required a transparent resolution rather than informal handling, as prolonged uncertainty could further affect the complainant as well as the working environment within the department.
The complainant, sources said, is seeking justice and wants the allegations to be examined by an impartial forum rather than being left unresolved.
