LHC strikes down rule restricting family pension

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court has declared unconstitutional and struck down a Punjab government decision to discontinue family pensions for widowed, divorced and unmarried daughters after the death of their government-employed parents.

The court has ordered payment of family pensions to all affected women.

Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi announced the reserved verdict in the case. The rule had been challenged by an affected woman, Ms Falak Shah, and former president of the District Bar Association Rawalpindi, Tanveer Sohail Shah. The court rejected the arguments and material presented by the Punjab Finance Department and the assistant advocate general.

In 2024, the Punjab government's Finance Department issued a controversial notification restricting eligibility for family pensions to widows and depriving divorced, unmarried and widowed daughters of the right to receive pensions after the death of their parents.

The decision had led to the discontinuation of family pensions for daughters of thousands of employees across 42 government departments in Punjab.

Counsel for the petitioner argued that divorced, widowed and unmarried daughters were entitled to pensions in all other provinces of Pakistan, while the Punjab government's notification had deprived women in the province of this right.

They maintained that the notification constituted a clear violation of Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees equality among citizens, and amounted to discriminatory treatment of daughters in Punjab.

Agreeing with the lawyers' arguments, the high court annulled the controversial notification and ordered the restoration of family pensions for all daughters in Punjab who were widowed, divorced or unmarried.