ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, while giving two weeks for settling the pension-related matters of the employees of private banks, has adjourned the hearing of the case for two weeks.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked, “Protecting the rights of the citizens from the cradle to the grave is the responsibility of the state. If private banks have to make any decision about their pensioners on their own, they can do so. But if the court gives a decision, then they should not offer any excuse that the bank has gone bankrupt.”
A three-member bench of SC, presided over by CJP Saqib Nisar, took up the bank employees’ pension case for hearing on Thursday. Allied Bank president appeared in the court during the hearing of the case.
The chief justice questioned the bank president about his failure to appear before the court on the previous day, even though a court notice was also sent to him in this regard. The CJP further asked the Allied Bank president whether he had paid a Rs 200,000 fine imposed on him by the court.
The court ordered him to pay the fine money as a donation to the Fatimid Foundation and ordered him to take some action in connection with the bank pensioners’ case, cautioning him that the court would have to give a decision if the matter was not resolved. “Do not come up with any excuse of bankruptcy if the court decides the fate of the case,” the chief justice had remarked.
CJP Saqib Nasir also said that private banks should provide their stance on the matter at the earliest, adding that this would not prevent the court from writing its decision on certain legal points in the case.
