Zoo director was removed for sexual harassment

LAHORE – Lahore Zoo Director Muhammad Iqbal Khalid, who was removed about a week ago from his post and was replaced by the Lahore Zoo Deputy Director Dr Zahid Bhatti, is accused of sexually harassing a female member of the lower staff. The incident was put down by many as the reason for his removal. The victim, a female guard requesting anonymity, told Pakistan Today that she and many other members of the zoo staff had to tolerate the ‘harsh’ behaviour of Khalid, who they said was too ill-mannered to talk with decency. “He couldn’t speak without abusing. He did not care whether he was talking to a man or a woman,” said a sweeper. HOW IT HAPPENED: The victim said that she was sitting and having her lunch when Khalid approached her and asked her why she was wasting her time. Then he asked her if she would come along with him to his home.
She refused instantly saying that if she wanted to do such business why would she replace her deceased husband as a guard? “He made an offensive comment about me and the way I was sitting, and then started saying to me rudely that I did not do any work and that he would make sure I was degraded,” she said. “Then he asked me to come to his office. I followed him because I could not disobey the director and when I went inside, he tried to get physical with me,” she said. She said that she shouted to raise the alarm, at which a few guards rushed into the room, and stopped the director from assaulting her. ‘HE WAS A SLEAZY MAN’: “We are not surprised at his attempt to get physical because he was a sleazy man and he had no respect to show to women,” said a guard. “For special events when there was a mehindi stall put up, he would not hesitate to take girls’ hands in his own. He always tried to get too friendly with them,” he said.
BAD REPUTATION WITH WOMEN: Even an official associated with wildlife and conservation, outside the zoo, says that the director had a bad reputation with women. “I visited him once with a friend of mine and he made some lewd comments about my age,” he says. “I was disgusted and I have avoided associating with him since then,” he said. LIPS SEALED: While the lower staff is speaking clearly about what they say was ‘unnecessary abuse’ at work, they are still scared of their positions. “We chose not to file any kind of police report because this would have exacerbated the issue and our jobs might have been under threat,” says a guard.
There is however silence within the Zoo Management, and their lips are sealed about what took place. In fact Dr Zahid Bhatti, former deputy director and who replaced Khalid as director now, says that the issue should be buried and forgotten and for the sake of the department’s reputation.
Bhatti says that he was not present at the time of the incident and in yet another statement he blames some people from the lower staff who resorted to ‘threatening’ the director by telling him, that they would ‘fix him if they saw him in the precincts of the zoo.’ A source has revealed that Iqbal Khalid is the son in law of Babar Hassan Bharwana, secretary, forest, wildlife and fisheries. Iqbal was removed by Wildlife and Parks Punjab Director General Zafar Nasrullah.
‘I’M CLEAN’: Meanwhile Iqbal Khalid says that he will not go back to the Punjab Wildlife Department from where he was transferred to the zoo. “I did not assault anyone, all I said to the guard who was eating her lunch that she did not have the manners at work, and that if she could not work at the gate then she should work in my office,” admits Khalid. “I was beaten up by the workers when I said this and things went from bad to worse,” he said. The lower staff however denies beating the director and say that they only tried to stop him from assaulting the victim.