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Muhammad Ishaque Notezai V. Government of Pakistan, establishment division, cabinet Secretariat, islamabad through Secretary and 3 others,

PLC 2024 1079 · Balochistan High Court

This case involved Muhammad Ishaque Notezai, a Member of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) posted at the Quetta Bench in Balochistan. He went to court because he discovered he was being paid significantly less than a counterpart Member serving at the NIRC's Multan Bench, even though both held the same rank (BPS-21) and performed identical duties.

The petitioner had signed a contract agreement when appointed, which stated his pay and allowances would be fixed in line with Members of NIRC working in other provincial benches. However, pay records showed a large gap: he received about Rs. 224,812 per month, while his counterpart in Multan received about Rs. 362,586.

The Balochistan High Court found that although the petitioner was not automatically entitled to pay equal to a High Court Judge (since he had agreed to BPS-21 terms), he was entitled to equal treatment with other NIRC Members under his own contract terms. Since he performed the same function as Members elsewhere and had been appointed on identical terms, paying him less amounted to unjustified discrimination, violating Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.

The court allowed the petition and directed the authorities to pay him salary and allowances equal to those paid to the Member of the Multan Bench. This case highlights that government employees doing the same job under the same terms must be treated equally, regardless of which province they serve in.

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