Sub-Inspector Farheen Murtaza has accused his senior officers of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of harassment and discrimination. The case comes at a time when there was news of another harassment case in the FIA, in which DIG Humayun Masood Sindhu was removed from his post for allegedly harassing a woman Assistant Director, Sania Shahid.
It is extremely horrible that an institution, which is a Pioneer of women’s rights, the Women officers of the same institute is facing harassment, undesirable attitudes, and unfair treatment, and despite repeated complaints, no significant action has been taken.
Officers like Farheen Murtaza and Sania Shahid were under undue pressure and harassed while on duty. Farheen Murtaza, the daughter of a Gilgit-Baltistan Minister, claimed in her petition to the Federal Ombudsman that despite her influential background, she faced mistreatment at the FIA. According to her, officers of the FIA’s PSP gang favor their fellow male officers and ignore the complaints of women.
Women officers also face discrimination in promotions and postings. Officers like Farheen Murtaza have not been promoted even once despite long unblemished service, while male officers have been given multiple promotions and higher posts. The same situation has come to light in the case of Farheen Murtaza. After 21 years of service, she was repeatedly overlooked and assigned tasks that did not befit his rank. They were subordinated to junior officers and engaged in irrelevant data entry tasks.
She says that his senior officers, including Deputy Director Kamran Aamir Khan and Inspector Humira Arbab, misbehaved with him and suggested that she suffer from mental health problems and recommended his dismissal. Farheen Murtaza was subsequently issued a formal chargesheet by the FIA, accusing him of various forms of abuse, improper answers to questions, and non-compliance with official orders.
The FIA director general has threatened him with disciplinary action, which could include dismissal. Farheen Murtaza has categorically rejected these allegations and said that all these allegations are leveled to silence him and to raise her voice against corruption and discrimination against him. They say their complaints were deliberately ignored and they were deprived of their rights.
When the media tried to call FIA Interpol sub-inspector Farheen Murtaza to know her position, she refused to give further comments saying that I am a government employee and my department should not contact the media. I am not allowed to talk openly. If the media want to know more details, they can find out from the office of the Federal Ombudsman. As a public servant, I cannot give any comments publically.
In the case of Sania Shahid Director General FIA removed Humayun Masood Sandhu, the Deputy Inspector General and the head of the Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) of the Federal Investigation Agency from the office, and the Additional Charge of the Director of Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) has been allotted to Director Interpol Sikandar Hayat Khan.
Both of the cases raises serious questions about the internal culture of Pakistan’s premier investigative agency and its treatment of women officers. The incident has highlighted the mess and discrimination faced by other female officers in the FIA and is now expected to be publicly investigated and brought to justice.
Dear Shamshad ! Do you know, that you are talking about women. You are using him, her, he, etc.