On July 10 , the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that employees transferred from the defunct Telephone and Telegraph (T&T) Department to the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation and later to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) are entitled to full pension benefits.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, issued the decision by a majority of two to one. The judgment stated that although the employees had ceased to be civil servants after the transfers, the statutory provisions governing their movement protected their pension rights.

The court delivered its verdict on over 250 appeals and petitions filed against various high court decisions relating to pension entitlements of the former T&T employees.

Justice Aminuddin Khan concurred with the chief justice, holding that both PTCL and the Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET) are obligated to ensure full disbursement of pension benefits to the eligible employees.

Justice Ayesha Malik, however, dissented from the majority opinion. She allowed the appeals filed by PTCL and PTET, denying the former employees’ claims to federal pension parity.

The court further directed PTCL to prepare a schedule for pension payments within 90 days, emphasizing that financial constraints do not absolve the company from its pension obligations.