Obstructing presidential order: Ombudsman warns EOBI officials of harsh action

ISLAMABAD: Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) has warned the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) of stringent disciplinary and punitive proceedings against the delinquent officers responsible for obstruction in the implementation of the order of President Asif Ali Zardari.

According to the final directive issued to the EOBI Chairman, the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) Secretariat has referred to the correspondence dated December 17, 2025 pertaining to the implementation of the order of the President.

The secretariat noted that despite the efflux of seven months and explicit directives issued by this office, the matter remained egregiously unresolved. Such protracted delays, notwithstanding our formal correspondence, reflect a state of administrative inertia and non-compliance that is entirely unacceptable.

“For the sake of absolute clarity and to reiterate the binding legal position, your attention is directed to the Order of the President of Pakistan in Representation No. 474/WM/2025, dated 17.12.2025. Upon formal adjudication, former Justice Irfan Qadir (Legal Affairs) conclusively set aside the Findings and Recommendations of the Wafaqi Mohtasib,” according to the directive.

It further added that the decisive ruling established that Majeeda Parveen, one of the two sisters of the late Naseer Ahmed Awan (Ex-Superintendent, EOBI), is rightfully entitled to pensionary benefits. This decision is firmly rooted in the fundamental rights enshrined within Article 25 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, affirming that a widowed sister holds legal parity with a divorced sister and must therefore be accorded equal protection and entitlement under the law.

The execution of the President of Pakistan’s appellate orders is a strict statutory obligation, not a discretionary prerogative. Consequently, Chairman EOBI is hereby directed to ensure the immediate and unconditional implementation of the aforementioned Presidential Order on an absolute priority basis. A consolidated and unequivocal compliance report must be submitted to Ombudsman Secretariat by August 13, 2026.

The secretariat warned that the communication should be treated as final notice. “Should you fail to effectuate compliance by the stipulated deadline, such dereliction shall be construed as willful defiance, gross insubordination, and a flagrant disregard for the sovereign orders of the President of Pakistan.”

Under such circumstances, the Secretariat would initiate stringent disciplinary and punitive proceedings against the delinquent officer(s) and official(s) responsible for this obstruction, it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026