Govt warned of contempt action if ex-MPAs’ arrears not paid

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the provincial government to pay the outstanding arrears of the allowances of former MPAs within three weeks, warning that contempt-of-court proceedings will be initiated against the relevant officials if the order is not complied with.

The direction came on a petition of former opposition MPA Syed Sardar Ahmed and others against the non-payment of allowances to those who have served as members of the provincial assembly.

The petitioners said the government had passed a law for the payment of allowances to MPAs in 2017, but those same allowances were not being paid to them.

The finance department’s deputy secretary legal informed the court that a summary has been approved by the chief minister for the release of Rs664.484 million to the provincial assembly outside the budget for clearing the liabilities of pay and allowances of ex-MPAs.

The official said that the matter has been forwarded for approval to the relevant standing committee of the cabinet because this requirement is necessary as the amount is out of budget.

The SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar said the amount owed to the MPAs has accrued on account of the amendment in the Sindh Assembly Members (Salaries and Allowances) Act 1974 vide the Sindh Laws (Amendment) Act 2017, but despite the lapse of considerable time, the arrears of the allowances are yet to be paid.

As a last chance, the court granted three more weeks to the government and said that contempt-of-court proceedings will be initiated against the officials responsible if the outstanding amount is not paid to the petitioners. The bench directed the provincial law officer to submit a compliance report by September 18.