Receiving father’s pension is divorced daughter’s right, rules SC

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the Sindh government’s appeal, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that it is the right of a divorced woman to receive the pension of her father.

The apex court judge, Justice Ayesha Malik, in her 10-page order issued on Wednesday, declared the Sindh government’s discriminatory circular, 2022 ‘null and void’, and said that the pension was not a favour but was a constitutional and legal right, which was transferred to the family members of a government employee and any delay in its payment was a crime.

The court made it clear that linking the pension to be received by a government employee’s daughter to her marriage was a violation of articles 9, 14, 25 and 27 of the constitution.

The judge said that the fact that Pakistan had stood at the bottom of the world’s list on gender equality was unfortunate.

The SC gave its verdict in the case of Fatima, whose pension had been restored by the Sindh High Court (SHC). But later, the Sindh government challenged the high court’s decision in the apex court.