'Special allowance': IHC allows government's appeal against orders of single bench

A two-judge bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday allowed the government's appeal against the orders of a single bench which had directed for increasing 20 percent salaries of all federal government employees on account of 'special allowance.'
The bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani accepted the government's appeal against the orders of a single IHC bench of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui who had ordered 20 percent increase in the salaries of employees of attached departments and corporations of federal ministries on account of 'special allowance' in accordance with the employees of Prime Minister's Secretariat on June 18, 2013.
The federal government through a deputy attorney general (DAG) challenged the June 18 orders of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui while saying that the said allowance would cost Rs 50 billion per annum to the national exchequer that government could not afford.
The DAG contended before the division bench that the 20 per cent special allowance was approved for those employees of the Prime Minister's Secretariat who perform till late and are frequently asked to work even on their weekly off days.
"The federal government is already paying 300 per cent special allowance to the superior judiciary's employees, 100 per cent to the policemen and the staff working at the Presidency," the DAG told the court. He argued that IHC single bench in its order did not exclude the departments where the employees are already getting the said allowance and directed the government to pay additional allowance to the tune of 20 per cent of their basic salary to all employees of federal government and its allied departments and ministries. Therefore, he prayed to the court to set aside the June 18 decision.
The Finance Division, during the tenure of former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, had issued an office memorandum on March 06, 2013 wherein it was informed that the Prime Minister has approved 20 per cent special allowance to the employees working in the federal ministries/divisions and Prime Minister Secretariat. Then employees of the Pakistan Council of Science and Technology, National Archives, Federal Government College Teachers Association, Capital Development Authority, Departments of Communication Security and of Libraries, National Centre for Rural Development, Pakistan Public Works Department and Cabinet Division had challenged the increase. They had prayed before the court to direct the government to indiscriminately pay the 20 per cent special allowance to all the employees of federal government. Acceding to their arguments Justice Siddiqui had directed the federal government to pay 20 per cent special allowance to all employees of the federal government.