Govt mulls over including allowances into judges’ pension

LAHORE: The Punjab Treasury and Law Departments are mulling over including allowances given to judges during service into their pension after retirement. Reliable sources told daily Jang that recommendations to amend the Civil Servants Rules will be made to make the basic salary allowances part of judges’ pension. The sources said the LHC registrar sent a letter to the Punjab government on which the Treasury secretary, the Law secretary and other officials held a meeting. The sources said the judiciary has adopted the stance that the basic salary allowances have already been made part of pension in Sindh and Balochistan. So it should also be done in Punjab. The sources said that for this, an approval would be sought from the Standing Committee on Treasury, the Standing Committee on Legislative Business and the cabinet. The government would have to pay an additional two to three billion rupees after making the allowances part of pension. When contacted, LHC Registrar Mushtaq Ojla confirmed that there was a discussion on making the allowances part of pension. He said: “Our stance was that the judiciary does not fall in the jurisdiction of the Civil Servants Rules, but amending the Civil Servants Rules is a must for the purpose.”