LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday sought a reply from the Punjab government about a delay in the appointment of provincial women ombudsperson under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.

Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal was hearing a petition by Sumaira Nasarullah, a senior clerk at the office of the advocate general of Punjab.

The petitioner alleged that she had been subjected to workplace harassment and sought relief under the law. However, due to the continued vacancy of the ombudsperson’s office, she had been left without access to the specialised forum created by statute for the swift resolution of such complaints.

Advocate Azhar Siddique appeared on behalf of the petitioner, arguing that the petition had been for the enforcement of fundamental rights of working women in the province and seeking immediate appointment of the women ombudsperson. He pointed out that the statutory position of the ombudsperson was vacant for over a year, rendering the entire mechanism for addressing workplace harassment complaints non-functional. As a result, he added, women facing harassment at their workplaces were deprived of the legally mandated forum for protection and redress.

The counsel stated that the petitioner had previously submitted formal representations to the Punjab governor and the chief minister, requesting immediate appointment of the women ombudsperson but no effective action had been taken so far. He asked the court to direct the provincial government to immediately appoint a qualified women ombudsperson through a transparent and merit-based process. He further sought a judicial order for the establishment of an interim complaint redress mechanism to ensure remedy for a victim of workplace harassment during the vacancy period.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Iqbal issued a notice to the government through the chief secretary for submission of a detailed reply by the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026