KARACHI: The Institute of Business Administration has said IBA respects all legal and quasi-judicial authorities and is committed to complying with their all decisions.

Against the backdrop of a decision of the provincial ombudsman on a complaint filed by an IBA lecture, Zahra Sabri, the IBA released a statement and said that Ms Sabri, one of the former lecturers, had in 2023 filed a complaint against the IBA registrar. The complaint was placed before an inquiry committee established under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.

It claimed that the inquiry committee exonerated the Registrar, but issued certain recommendations to the competent authority against the administration of IBA such as issuing a letter of apology and compensating the complainant in the sum of Rs300,000.

As the competent authority did not approve the recommendations, the complainant challenged the decision before the ombudsman, who allowed her appeal, the statement said, adding that the IBA challenged the ombudsman’s decision before the Sindh High Court.

“As the case is pending, IBA reiterates that no judicial forum or quasi-judicial forum has affirmed the recommendations of the inquiry committee,” it said, adding that the issue as to whether the recommendations of the inquiry committee were legal and valid was still to be decided by the SHC and in future proceedings before the ombudsman.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025