ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan has upheld the representation filed by a divorced sister of a deceased EOBI employee and directed the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) to grant her family pension, overturning an earlier decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib.
The President’s Secretariat has directed the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) to immediately implement a presidential order granting family pension to the divorced sister of a deceased EOBI employee, after the institution failed to comply with the decision for more than five months.
According to an order issued by the President’s Secretariat, Majeeda Parveen had challenged the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s decision of September 26, 2025, regarding the denial of family pension following the death of her brother, Naseer Ahmed Awan, a former EOBI officer who passed away in service in March 2019.
The complainant argued that despite being dependent on her deceased brother, she and her sister were denied pension benefits, while in similar cases other sisters had been granted pensions. EOBI maintained that under its regulations, a divorced sister could not be treated the same as a widowed sister for pension purposes.
After hearing both sides, the President observed that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law and that there was no reasonable basis to discriminate between a divorced sister and a widowed sister in such circumstances. The order noted that the hardships faced by a divorced sister are no less than those faced by a widowed sister and that both categories should be treated equally under the law.
The President held that the petitioner was entitled to receive pension benefits on the same basis as a widowed sister and accepted her representation. Consequently, the earlier order of the Wafaqi Mohtasib was set aside, and EOBI was directed to release the requisite family pension to Majeeda Parveen.
The decision was issued under the approval of the President and communicated to EOBI for compliance.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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