Pakistan yet lacks a law for protection of whistleblowers.
A law for protection of whistleblowers was introduced in the National Assembly in 2019 but it has yet to be passed by the Senate of Pakistan. The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2017 is in field but the law pertains to whistle blowing information regarding holders of public office. Neither the draft law nor the present law relate to whistle blowing within private organizations. Some HR Manuals and contracts of organizations do accord protection for whistle blowing but such instances are rare. Perhaps there is a fine line between whistleblowing and defamation which needs to be ascertained first in Pakistan before we see the 2019 draft law being approved or in fact extended towards private organizations.
Employees involved in whistleblowing may face the wrath of organizations in the shape of terminations and demotions. Only way to curb this by introducing a law that accords protection to the whistle blower while making sure that the same does not result in defamation.
