ISLAMABAD: In line with the government’s ongoing austerity measures, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has withdrawn “incentive promotions” for junior commissioned officers (JCOs), a scheme that gives them post-retirement financial benefits.

This decision, effective retrospectively, has sparked legal challenges, with about three dozen former PAF warrant officers (WOs) and assistant warrant officers (AWOs) lodging petitions in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The petitions, submitted by retired Brigadier Wasaf Khan Niazi, will likely be taken up by a single-member bench of the IHC later this week. The petitioners argued that they joined the PAF as airmen and, after basic training, worked with total dedication to reach the positions of AWOs and WOs.

One petition said that “during the service, a policy circular was issued whereby those JCOs and NCOs who had fulfilled the promotion criteria of the board but could not be promoted to the next rank for want of vacancy in service structure were to be granted incentive promotion to the next rank for financial effect/pensionary benefits.”

“However, the new rank was not to be worn by such incumbents, nor did it have any effect on the period of service for that rank”, the petition added.

According to the petition, the policy for incentive promotion was amended on May 15, 2021, and the required threshold for this promotion has toughened. However, the petitioners tried their best to achieve the required eligibility.

It said that on July 9, 2023, one of the petitioners attained the age of superannuation, and his case fell within the ambit of policy existing at that time issued under the Air Force Order (AFO) of March 16, 2018.

However, the PAF recently virtually withdrew the incentive promotion for airmen and was not granted to them “in line with the policy”, the petition said.

“When the petitioner approached the authorities through departmental applications, the same was not responded and the organisation remained non-committal about its reasons,” it added.

The petitioners argued that since they attained the age of superannuation before the policy for the incentive promotion was amended, the revised policy could not be implemented retrospectively in their cases.

They also pointed out that since no alternative remedy was available in the PAF Act or Pakistan Air Force Rules, the issue could be settled in a high court.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2024