Former employees: Supreme Court asks PTCL to release pension, medical benefits

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Ghulam Rabbani on Friday ordered the PTCL management to release the pension and medical benefits of its former employees within seven days.
Sheraz Ahmed and others have filed a petition through Kowkab Iqbal against the judgement a division bench of Islamabad High Court.
The petitioners availed the option of golden handshake but did not vacate the PTCL residences which were vacated through lower court orders, freezing their pension. They filed appeal in Islamabad High Court to redress the matter but were not given remedy in the case.
Kowkab Iqbal contended that under Section 11 of the Pension Act 1871 the pension of an employee couldn't be stopped under any circumstances.
But the PTCL management stopped the pension of the petitioners on the plea that they had not vacated their residential quarters even after their retirement.
He further pleaded that the petitioners had vacated the residences even before the judgement of the division bench of the Islamabad High Court, which had rejected their case on grounds that the petitioners before the learned single judge of the High Court had not accepted the offer of the PTCL to vacate their quarters for the release of pension.
The counsel further submitted that the PTCL management has had not released even medical facilities although they had vacated their residence.
After hearing the arguments, the bench converted the petition to an appeal and ordered the PTCL authorities to release the pension and medical benefits of Sheraz and others, former employees of PTCL, within seven days.