Daily Times

Provincial Ombudsperson for the protection of women against harassment at the workplace Rakhshanda Naz said Thursday that an Ombudsperson complex would be set up in Peshawar.

She expressed these views during a meeting with Provincial Law Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan.

The provincial minister congratulated Rakhshanda Naz on taking oath as Provincial Ombudsperson and expressed his best wishes. He said that this is an important duty and fulfilling its responsibilities with utmost seriousness and sincerity is essential for the present.

During the meeting various issues were discussed in detail under which several important steps will be taken initially for the Ombudsperson Secretariat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to run mutual affairs and development. Under which first an ombudsperson complex will be set up in Peshawar for which suitable land will be acquired. Law Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan has said that sub and regional offices of the Provincial Ombudsperson Secretariat will be set up to facilitate the delivery of justice to the common man at his doorstep. Provincial Ombudsperson Rakhshanda Naz informed the law minister that after the implementation of “KP Enforcement of Women’s Rights to Property Act 2019”, the powers to investigate and deal with complaints have also been given to the Ombudsperson Secretariat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The number of cases against harassment of women in the workplace under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Protection of Women (Amendment) Act, 2018 has also been increased. The matter of creation of vacancies and related human resources for speedy disposal of these cases will be finalized soon with the Finance Department so that there is no hindrance in the delivery of justice.

Fazal Shakoor Khan said that most of the complainants belong to very poor families who have very few resources to lodge a complaint and follow up and come to the Peshawar office for hearing the case. To this end, sub-regional and regional offices of the Ombudsperson Secretariat will be set up to enhance the confidence of the people in the administration of the state by providing justice to them.

Provincial Law Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan directed the Provincial Ombudsperson to organize various seminars on Women Property Act in the newly merged districts so that the women of these districts could be made aware of it and women’s rights could be protected from being violated. He said that awareness teams should be sent to all the districts of the province including the newly merged districts so that the people are fully aware of this act and women can be protected from inheritance deprivation under the Act.