Tazeen Akhtar
President Secretariate , in a very unexpected way, has suspended the orders of Federal Ombudsperson Against Harassment to remove Vice Chancellor Health Services Academy Dr. Shehzad Ali Khan in a case filed by the female Deputy Director of the academy. Thus reinstating the VC at his post who assumed the charge today on 16 Feb again.
Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, only a few days ago, ordered the removal from service of Health Services Academy (HSA) Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shehzad Ali Khan after finding him guilty of quid pro quo sexual harassment of a former student and junior colleague.
The Ombudsperson dismissed the Vice Chancellor’s complaint against the female officer and rejected his defense of “honey trapping,” holding that consent in a teacher student power imbalance has no legal validity.
The decision was issued in Complaint No. FOH-HQR-H/0341/2025, instituted on 04-08-2025, titled Dr. Shehzad Ali Khan vs Dr. Ayesha Khan, Department: Health Services Academy, subject: Final Order
Two separate harassment complaints had been filed by both parties. Since both arose from the same factual matrix, they were consolidated for joint inquiry and adjudication.
Dr. Hafiza Ayesha Khan, former Deputy Director at the Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) on the other hand, alleged that the Vice Chancellor, while being her teacher and later her institutional superior, developed intimacy under a promise of marriage, made inappropriate remarks, misused authority, and retaliated against her when she resisted. She filed a separate harassment complaint, including reference to an alleged incident dated 17-07-2025 for which criminal proceedings are pending.
Dr. Shehzad Ali Khan has shared on his FB page that ” I am back at academy. President Secretariate has suspended the order of FOSPAH.”
This scribe learnt from the sources of the President Secretariat that the implementation on the order of FOSPAH has been suspended for 60 days only. In the meanwhile, the legal branch of the President house has sought all record of the case within 07 days to review it and decide accordingly to place the case before the competent forum for further proceedings.
Later, the Spokesperson of the President House, Mr. Murtaza Saulangi shared the latest status as per legal aspect of the matter , “A representation against the order of the Ombudsperson was received in the President’s Secretariat in accordance with the law. Under Section 14(2) of the Federal Ombudsperson Institution Reforms Act, 2013, the operation of the order stands automatically suspended for sixty days upon filing of such a representation.”
“This suspension is a statutory requirement and does not mean that the individual has been cleared of charges or finally reinstated. The complete official record has been called from the concerned forum for examination before placing the matter before the competent authority for a decision in accordance with law, he added.
Finally, he clarified, “Any claim that the accused person has been cleared or granted final relief by the President is incorrect. The matter remains under review and will be decided strictly in accordance with the law.”
