State Bank fined Rs 500,000 for denying paternity leave

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ombudsman has imposed a fine of five hundred thousand rupees on the State Bank of Pakistan for denying paternity leave. Of this amount, four hundred thousand rupees will be paid as compensation to the complainant, while one hundred thousand rupees will be deposited in the government treasury.

Article 38 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan guarantees the social and economic welfare of the people.

Basit Ali had filed a petition against the State Bank in December 2025. The petition for 30 days of paternity leave under the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act, 2023 was rejected on this basis alone.

According to the petitioner, there was no relevant policy, although the law was in force. In the final order, the Federal Ombudsman ruled that denial of paternity leave amounted to harassment in the form of discrimination on the basis of gender under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.