IslamabadA court ruled harassment must be sexual to be actionable.
Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court overrides a 2022 amendment covering gender-based conduct that may not be sexual, lawyers say.
The court read the 2010 Act’s definition narrowly and declined to follow 2021 and 2025 Supreme Court rulings.
“With the greatest respect, this judgment is wrong in law and dangerous in effect,” said barrister Maleeha Bokhari.
Its Monday ruling ended Nadia Sarwar’s 2012 complaint by overturning the compulsory retirement of the two men she accused.
How each outlet framed it
- Dawn leans critical
- FCC restricts harassment law to sexual cases only, contradicting 2022 amendment and prior Supreme Court precedent, narrowing protections
Sources: Dawn