PROVINCE OF SINDH through Secretary, Government of Sindh, Karachi vs Mst

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PROVINCE OF SINDH through Secretary, Government of Sindh, Karachi VS Mst. SORATH FATIMA R. 4.10 (3)(a)---Circular No. FD (PCDC) 3 (225)/2022, dated 05-12-2022, issued by Government of Sindh, Finance Department---Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Art. 2(f)---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts. 14 & 25---Family pension---Divorced daughter, entitlement of---Determining factor---Dispute between parties was with regard to release of family pension to respondent who was daughter of deceased civil servant and was divorced after the death of civil servant---Validity---Dependency is not a metric for financial stability rather it is an assumption that disregards actual economic need and lived experiences of many women---Claim of surviving daughters should be based on need and individual assessment rather than a legal framework built on patriarchal assumptions as to what is stereotypically believed to constitute dependency---This presumptive exclusion based solely on marital status is unconstitutional, discriminatory and a violation of Arts. 14, 25 & 27 of the Constitution---Concept of tying a daughter's eligibility to family pension solely to her marital status results in an unjustifiable distinction---Women are independent right-holders, autonomous and should be entitled to family pension where financial need is established---Pakistan's obligations under international law reinforce the principle that women cannot be denied access to economic entitlements based on marital status alone---As a party to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Pakistan is required to abolish discriminatory laws and practices that impair women's enjoyment of rights on an equal footing with men---Provision of Article 13 of the Constitution thereof guarantees women equal rights in family benefits, while Article 2(f) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),obliges States to repeal existing laws and regulations that constitute discrimination---Circular, which imposes restrictions unsupported by the Act or the Rules, is void ab initio, unconstitutional, and of no legal effect---Timing of death of civil servant could not lawfully be used to extinguish a surviving daughter's right to claim pension---Supreme Court declined to interfere in the judgment passed by High Court---Petition for leave to appeal was dismissed and leave to appeal was refused.

PROVINCE OF SINDH through Secretary, Government of Sindh, Karachi vs Mst — 2025 PLC(CS) 1417 QUETTA-HIGH-COURT-BALOCHISTAN

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