LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has set aside orders of a labour court and a wages authority against the Turkish Maarif Foundation in a claim filed by a former vice-principal.

Justice Jawad Hassan allowed a writ petition filed by the foundation, which runs the Pak Turk Maarif International Schools and Colleges.

The respondent, Ismat Mateen, had joined the Pak Turk International Cag Education Foundation (PTICEF) in 2003 and became vice-principal of a Multan campus.

In 2018, the Supreme Court declared PTICEF a proscribed organisation over alleged links with the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) and directed that the schools be handed to the Turkish Maarif Foundation.

Ms Mateen resigned by email on Dec 26, 2019, and received a final settlement of Rs67,364 in February 2020. In August 2020, she claimed Rs24.59 million for gratuity, leave encashment, bonus and damages.

The Wages Authority awarded her Rs10.8 million, and the labour court dismissed the foundation’s appeal for non-appearance and non-deposit of the decreed amount.

A counsel for the foundation argued that it was a non-profit organisation and not a commercial establishment, so the impugned authorities lacked jurisdiction in its matters.

The respondent’s counsel objected to the petition’s maintainability but gave no satisfactory reply to the legal position put by the court.

Justice Hassan observed that the wages authority decided the jurisdiction issue in a very slipshod and casual manner, ignored the 2018 judgement and failed to try the legal issue first. He said the labour court also disposed of the appeal on technical grounds without examining its merits.

The judge recalled the close ties between Pakistan and Turkiye but said liability and jurisdiction must be decided independently under the law.

The judge set aside the impugned orders passed by the labour court and the authority under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

Justice Hassan directed the authority to decide the matter afresh, especially the preliminary issues, in light of the case’s background, Pakistan-Turkiye relations and the foundation’s legal status as recognised in the Supreme Court’s judgement of December 2018.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026