Father’s pension in Pakistan: Court reaffirms divorced daughters’ right

In a major new ruling aimed at reviewing pension law regulations, the Pakistan Supreme Court has declared that divorced daughters are eligible to receive their late father’s pension. The judgment puts a spotlight on the rights of children under pension laws, particularly for daughters who frequently face gender bias within state regulations.

The decision was delivered on Wednesday, July 30, by a two-judge bench consisting of Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. Here, the pair reviewed an earlier appeal filed by the Sindh government against a February 27 ruling by the Sindh High Court Circuit Bench in Larkana.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments.

The case behind the new judgment was filed by a woman named Sorath Fatima, who was the daughter of a deceased employee of the Sindh Road and Transport Department.

Fatima’s father died in 2002, at which point his pension was provided to his widow, Fatima’s mother. However, following her mother’s death in 2012, the pension was then granted to Fatima, as she was the unmarried daughter of the deceased.

This is per government law which states that in the event of no surviving widow, pensions are to be equally divided amongst the children, specifically, sons under the age of 21, and daughters who are unmarried, widowed, or divorced.

Yet, when Fatima proceeded to request for the reinstatement of her late father’s pension following her divorce in 2022, she was denied her rights. This prompted her to challenge the government decision in the Sindh High Court, who inevitably ruled in her favour, leading the government to file for an appeal.

The final 10-page verdict for the case, written by Justice Malik, outlined many key issues, including her disapproval of using marital status as a major decision maker in pension cases. Ultimately, Justice Malik is advocating for the removal of marital status as a criterion for eligibility.

“This dependency model reveals that there is a systematic bias that treats a daughter as a dependent, with her financial dependency shifting from parent to spouse,” her ruling stated, as reported by Dawn news.