ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) to restore the pension and post-retirement benefits of the ex-director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Bashir Memon.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah while disposing of Memon’s petition passed the direction.

Justice Minallah observed that withholding the pension was a violation of the basic human rights. The chief justice remarked that if this could happen to an FIA director general, what would happen to a normal civil servant?

He told the representative of the AGPR that they should rectify the system.

The AGPR representative said the establishment secretary had not yet responded to the objections raised by the accounts general office. The chief justice said when his resignation was accepted, what else remained? He said pension papers should be cleared the next day of the retirement of a person.

“Withholding one’s pension is a serious violation of fundamental rights,” he said. “Now is the age for technology. Everything should be on the computer. In pensions [matters] you should make things easier,” he said.

The court was told that the establishment division had approved Mr Memon’s pension. The chief justice asked when former federal secretary Younus Dagha’s pension was approved why not Mr Memon’s. The AGPR official said the case of Mr Dagha was not similar as he had proceeded to premature retirement.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2020