ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has ruled that an employee’s pension is a constitutional right, not an act of generosity, bounty, or benevolence, reaffirming that it is protected under Articles 9 and 14 of Pakistan’s Constitution.
Delivering judgment in the case of Shakeel Ahmed Kayani vs. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Justice Shah observed that pension is “inseparably linked with the right to life, dignity, and livelihood,” and that without sustenance in old age, these constitutional rights “ring hollow.”
Article 9 ensures that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty except in accordance with the law, while Article 14 guarantees the dignity of every individual.
The Supreme Court heard the case on September 17, 2025, and issued its written judgment this week, overturning a 2022 Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision that had dismissed the petitioner’s plea for an additional pension.
The petitioner, Shakeel Ahmed Kayani, had served in the Pakistan Military Accounts Department before joining the erstwhile Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) in 1995. Following the promulgation of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (Reorganisation) Ordinance, 2001, the corporation was converted into the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), and Kayani continued his service until his retirement as a senior accountant in June 2021 — completing nearly 41 years of employment.
Kayani argued that, under Regulation 15(1A) of the Pension Regulations, he was entitled to an additional pension as his service terms were protected by the 2001 Ordinance. His counsel maintained that a Finance Division memorandum issued in 2001, which discontinued additional pensions, could not override the statutory protections granted to OGDC employees.
OGDCL, however, rejected the claim through an office memorandum in August 2021, prompting the petitioner to approach the IHC — which dismissed the plea in February 2022.
In his judgment, Justice Shah emphasised that pensions represent a “crystallised return on years of faithful service — a form of deferred wages earned through the sweat, labour, and loyalty of an employee.”
“To deny or withhold pension,” he wrote, “is to strip a person of the security they have justly earned, leaving them exposed to indignity, vulnerability, and want.” The judgment further notes that pension grants must be adequate, predictable, and administered with empathy, aligning with Pakistan’s constitutional value of human dignity.
Concluding the decision, the Supreme Court set aside the IHC’s verdict and directed OGDCL to release the petitioner’s additional pension within 30 days, with a compliance report to be submitted to the SC Registrar.
“In case the compliance report is not received by the first week of November 2025,” the order warns, “the case will be placed before the Court for necessary orders.”
Justice Shah’s judgment underscores a broader constitutional philosophy: that the welfare of retired employees is not an act of grace by the state, but a right anchored in Pakistan’s promise of dignity, equality, and justice.
