President sets aside ombudsperson’s order against tobacco firm ex-employee accused of workplace harassment

President of Pakistan grants ex-tobacco employee's request, overturning ombudsperson's harassment ruling

The president of Pakistan has accepted an appeal by Raza Pervez Fateh, a former employee of a multinational tobacco company, and overturned a decision by the federal ombudsperson that accused him of sexual harassment against a female colleague, according to a latest report.

The ombudsperson had found Fateh guilty of subjecting the woman to unwelcome verbal and written communication, but had reduced his punishment from dismissal to a minor penalty and ordered him to pay Rs200,000 within 15 days. She left it to the company to either keep him employed or accept his resignation and provide an experience letter.

Fateh, who started working for the tobacco company as a channel trade analyst on September 1, 2023, denies the allegations, calling them a ploy to stop his planned complaints against senior employees. After an internal inquiry, he was fired on May 13, 2025.

In his representation to the president, Fateh stated that he was conditionally reinstated by the company on November 24, 2025, despite lacking proper workspace or reporting lines, and was subsequently denied his resignation. He argued that the inquiry committee was set up illegally, the remand orders were ignored, and he was denied physical copies of video and documentary evidence.

The inquiry found no evidence of harassment and noted that the "reasonable woman" standard was misapplied while "consensual communication" was overlooked.