The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been fined PKR 500,000 by the Federal Ombudsman for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) after it refused a male employee’s request for paternity leave—triggering a landmark ruling on parental rights and workplace equality in the country.
What Happened?
In April 2025, Syed Basit Ali, an officer at the State Bank of Pakistan Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC), applied for 30 days of paternity leave following the birth of his son on April 4.
The bank rejected his application on the grounds that its internal leave policy did not include paternity leave—despite the fact that the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act, 2023 was already in force. Under this law, fathers are entitled to paternity leave after the birth of a child.
The Ombudsman’s Ruling
After reviewing the case, Federal Ombudsperson Fouzia Waqar ruled that the SBP’s refusal was illegal and discriminatory.
She stated that “denying paternity leave to the complainant, to which he is legally entitled as a father, while allowing maternity leave to female employees, constitutes clear gender-based discrimination.”
The ruling stressed that childcare is a shared responsibility and that denying fathers leave undercuts both parental roles and the best interests of the child.
Penalty and Directive
SBP was fined PKR 500,000 in total.
PKR 400,000 of that amount must be paid directly to Basit Ali as compensation.
The remaining PKR 100,000 will be deposited into the national treasury.
The bank must immediately grant Ali 30 days of fully paid paternity leave.
SBP is also ordered to update its internal policies to fully align with the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act, 2023.
Why This Matters
Legal experts and rights advocates are calling the decision a significant step toward workplace equality in Pakistan, where gender roles have traditionally been rigid. The ruling sets a precedent that even autonomous federal institutions are bound by federal welfare laws and cannot use internal policy loopholes to deny statutory rights.
This case also highlights growing public and institutional recognition that parental responsibilities should be shared, and that both parents deserve legal support in caring for newborns—a shift from conventional norms.
