Daily Times

KARACHI: A large number of the employees of of Sindh prosecution department have staged a protest outside the city courts against what they say discrimination in the payment of judicial and utility allowances.

Noor Ahmed, associated with the prosecution department, laments that he receives a meager salary while those employees of the high court and district judiciary receive salaries which are equal to three times of his as they are also paid special allowances.

“This is sheer discrimination as we alike them work in courtrooms with public prosecutors, yet we are not being paid the judicial allowances,” he said. “I am unable to meet my daily household and other expenses with this much salary which is so little so I work part-time to make a good living.”

Jawed Latif Memon, district attorney South, while talking to Daily Times said that the prosecutors dealing with civil and criminal matters in courts and their subordinates are part and parcel of the judiciary, nevertheless, they were deprived of judicial allowance.

He said that they have been struggling since 2011 against this unfair treatment, but unfortunately their efforts have not yielded any results yet. Several petitions are pending in the high court seeking directives to the government to pay judicial allowance equal to three times the initial to the substantive pay scale but no decision has come so far.

Earlier on Tuesday, a two-member bench of the Sindh High Court had refused to proceed with the petitions filed by Qamar Jahan and others seeking judicial and utility allowances.

Justice Irfan Saddat Khan referred the matter to the chief justice to fix the same before another bench.

In the petitions, the prosecutors and other employees had submitted that back in 2008 the Sindh government agreed to pay special judicial allowance equal to judicial officers and employees of the district judiciary.

Since they are also associated with judiciary directly or indirectly, they deserve the same treatment.

Memon said that there was no recourse available other than taking to roads and observe strikes. Therefore, he added, the law officers, observed two-hour pen down strike through out the province to push for their legal demands.

“They were being discriminated against the employees of the judiciary. Even a low-rank employee of the judiciary receives more salary than a prosecutor.”

The high court had earlier in 2011 given decision directing the provincial government to pay special judicial allowance to the judicial officers and employees of the district courts.

The litigants had contended that they were not being paid the judicial and utility allowances at the enhanced rates as were being received by employees of the Sindh, Lahore and Peshawar high courts.

National Judicial Committee in 2007 had approved the special allowances for judicial officers and staff of the subordinate courts in all four provinces.