ORDER SHEET
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH AT KARACHI
C. P. NO. D-2689 of 2017 a / w
CP D 1250, 640 of 2013, CP D 2814 of 2014; CP D 2321 to 2324, 2406, 2421,
2591, 2624, 2768, 2963, 7939 of 2015; CP D 1323, 6239, 6578, 6751 of 2016;
CP D 1546, 2078, 2664, 2811, 2812, 2853, 3303, 3867, 3879, 4052, 4130,
4163, 4280, 5024, 5528, 6227, 7675, 8091, 935, 939, 993 of 2017; CP D 107,
1408, 2079, 3213, 3871, 4246, 4264, 5027, 520, 5201, 521, 522, 523, 576,
6639, 6854, 6855, 6876, 8340, 8899, 8929, 9010 of 2018; CP D 1002, 1003,
1004, 1005, 1034, 1178, 1552, 1674, 2723, 2724, 2725, 2766, 2767, 3122, 370,
3761, 3795, 3864, 3865, 4406, 5789, 579, 5951, 6095, 6106, 6107, 6236, 6237,
6485, 6486, 6760, 7956, 8057, 8220, 8292, 8387, 840, 8410, 8411, 8533, 8566
of 2019; CP D 1111, 142, 1460, 308, 309, 377, 4933, 5301, 551, 5822, 633,
634, 643, 644, 6793, 697 of 2020; CP D 1342, 3607, 448 & 6972 of 2021; CP D
2074, 4322, 7475, 7695 and 7696 of 2022; CP D 3244, 4475, 4625, 5137,
5207, 5533, 5534, 5535, 5536, 5537, 5538, 5539, 5565, 5710, 5795, 5796,
5797, 5798, 5799, 6321, 6360, 6361 of 2023; CP D 1044, 1045, 1315, 1744,
2127, 2718, 3438, 399, 3995, 4143, 4719, 4748, 4749, 4750, 4751, 4752, 4753,
5928, 5356, 5104, 5105, 5450, 5787, 5930, 5931, 53, 5359, 6043, 620, 963 of
2024; Suits 1030, 1917, 1972, 2040, 220 221, 2248, 598, 64, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82,
897 of 2016; 1064, 1065, 1066, 1173, 1174, 1332, 1403, 1425, 1459, 1460,
1494, 1610, 234, 2371, 2423, 2618, 292, 610, 844 of 2017; 1259, 2070, 210,
212, 220, 2414, 246, 256, 288, 289, 372, 467, 483, 620, 65, 929 of 2018; 2090,
2091 of 2019; 1405 of 2020; 967, 968 of 2022; -1930, -2351, 1703, 2104 of
2023; -1, -148, -33, 1382, 171, 19, 21, 259, 313, 448 of 2024.
____________________________________________________________
DATE ORDER WITH SIGNATURE OF JUDGE
____________________________________________________________
1. For order on Nazir report dated 11.12.2023
2. For hearing of CMA No.13209/2017
3. For hearing of main case
21.01.2025
Messrs. Dr. Farogh Naseem, Faisal Siddiqui, Rashid Anwar, Hyder Ali
Khan, Asim Iqbal, Hussain Ali Almani, Ovais Ali Shah, Pooja Kalpana,
Muhammad Anas Makhdoom, Jahanzeb Awan, Anwar Kashif Mumtaz,
Rashid Mahar, Jawaid Farooqui, Qazi Umair Ali, Shahan Karimi,
Farmanullah Khan, Navin Merchant, Jam Zeeshan Ali, Salman J. Mirza,
Faiz Ahmed, Sami-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Adeel Awan, Sufiyan
Zaman, Yousuf Rashid Anwar, Adil Saeed, Nareeta Hassan, Amna A.
Saeed, Zia Ahmed Awan, Abdul Rehman Adeed, Mahmood Ali, , Arbaz
Ahmed Yar Khan, Sagar Ladhani, , Jahanzeb Baloch, , , , Sauban
Tasleem, Siraj Alam, Fasih Zuberi for Obaidur Rehman Khan,
Muhammad Shahrukh Farogh Nasim, Syeda Khizra Fatima Chishti,
Syeda Maryam Mastoor, Manzoor Hameed Arain, , Usman Alam, Rana
Sakhawat Ali, Arshad Hussain, Inzimam Sharif, Asad Nadeem, Musharaf
Azhar, Hamza Waheed, Hamood ur Rehman Khan Niazi, Nabeel Ahmed
Khan, Sabih Zuberi Ahmed Faraz, Umer Farooq, Ch. Ashraf, Farhan
Khan, Absar Bukhari, Qazi Ajmal Kamal, Muhammad Aleem, Zain A.
Jatoi, Muhammad Mustafa Mamdani, Shahzad Raheem, Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Naqash Siddiqui, Saad Fayyaz, Eimadul Hassan, Muneeb
Kidwae, Adnan Ahmed Zafar, Agha Zafar Ahmed, Feroze Ahmed, M.
Faran Khan, Muddasir Abbasi, Shoaib Ali Khatian, Saleha Baig, Sahil
Qureshi, Afaq Ahmed, Hussain Akhter Ansari, Muhammad Arshad
Qaiser Warsi, Zaheeruddin Babar, Rajeesh Kumar, Uzair Qadir Shoro,
Usman Shukat, Faiz Durrani, Samia Alam Durrani, Ghulam Muhammad,
Shakeel Akbar, Feroze Ahmed, Mehmood Ali, Hassan Khursheed
Hashmi, Sundar Lal Lohna, Tasleem Hussain Maitlo, Abrar Ahmed for
Sofia Saeed Shah, Mansoor Ali Shaikh, Suneel Ali Memon, Qubra Ali
,Ahmed Hussain, Habib Kazi, Abdul Rahim Lakhani, Atta Muhammad
Qureshi, Lubna Pervaiz, M. Baqar Raza, Shafqat Zaidi, Taimur Ahmed
Qureshi, Wasil Jan, Taha Abdul Samad, Abdul Ghaffar, Rana Azeem,
Shams Mohiuddin Ansari, Kohmir Rind, Shaheer Roshan, Furqan
Mushtaq, Mujtaba Sohail Raja, Shahid Iqbal Rana, Rana Mehran Akram,
Salman Yousuf, , Saleha Baig, Nadir Hussain, M. Ashfaq Khan, Mariam
Salahuddin, Riaz Moin Siddiqui, advocates for petitioners / plaintiffs.
Messrs. Dr. Shahnawaz Memon, Ameer Bakhsh Metlo, Syed Ahsan Ali
Shah, Anas Habib, Ghazi Khan Khalil, Ameer Nausherwan Adil, Abdul
Razzak Punhwar, Fawad Chand, Faheem Raza Khuhro, Rasheed
Ashraf Mughal, Munawar Ali Memon, Mukesh Kumar Khatri, Faheem Ali
Memon, Shahid Ali Qureshi, Muhammad Aqeel Qureshi, Farhana Irfan
for Irfan Mir Halepota, Imtiaz Ali Solangi, Wail Jan, Abdul Hakeem
Junejo, Tufail Akbar, Wali Jan, Bukhari, Qaim Ali Memon, Imdad Ali
Sahito, Syed Jamaluddin Bukhari, Ayaz Sarwar Jamali, Javed Ali Sangi,
Barrister Huma Sodher, Fahad Hussain Arijo, Summaiya Kalwar, Pervaiz
Ahmed Memon, Zohaib Ahmed for Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui, Azad
Hussain for Muhammad Bilal Bhatti, Masooda Siraj, Ilyas Ahmed, Jazib
Memon, Advocates for Respondents.
Mr. Ghulam Shabbir Shah, Advocate for SRB
Mr. [Link], Assistant Advocate General
Mr. Asadullah Memon, Section Officer, Labour.
Faisal Tariq, Director (Legal) W.W.F, Islamabad.
Mr. Akhlaque Hussain, Entomologist, DPP.
Mr. Zamir A. Khalid, Commissioner Legal SRB
Per learned counsel, these matters pertain to challenge by trans-
provincial entities to imposition / collection of W.W.F. in the wake of the 18th
amendment to the Constitution and subsequent pronouncements of the
Supreme Court, including Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd. vs. Federation of
Pakistan reported as 2018 SCMR 802. It remains the petitioners’ case that
trans-provincial entities may be treated independently of Provincial fiscal laws.
These matters have been pending since 2013.
Notwithstanding the aforesaid, it was brought to the attention1 of the
Court that the Council of the Common Interests2 had been seized of the matter
and had been pleased to decide, on Agenda Item 14 bearing NO.
CCI.14/1/2019 dated 23.12.2019, as follows:
“119. The CCI considered the Summary dated 23rd May, 2019
submitted by Ministry of Overseas Pakistani & HRD and observed
that none of the provinces has developed a workable mechanism
for resolution to address the post-devolution issues of pension of
migrating employees. The Council held that being trans-provincial
and inter-provincial matter, both the organizations i.e. EOBI & WWF
should remain with the Federal Government to perform its functions
under Employees Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976 and Workers Welfare
Fund Ordinance, 1971, till such time a mutually agreed mechanism
is developed.”
The Court was assisted with the pertinent provision3 of the Constitution
1 As denoted vide orders dated 16.10.2024 and 14.11.2024.
2
Created per Article 153 of the Constitution.
stipulating that decisions of the CCI are subject to challenge vide reference to
the Parliament, hence, it was argued that post 2019 no occasion remained for
these matters to continue to be entertained in writ jurisdiction.
The Council of the Common Interests is a representative body
constituted inter alia to facilitate comity between the federating units and each
Province has representation therein. In the event of either the Federal
Government or a Provincial Government is dissatisfied with a decision of the
Council, they remain at liberty to precipitate a reference before a joint sitting of
the Parliament. Despite repeated opportunity, recorded vide orders dated
16.10.2024 and 14.11.2024, it is nobody’s case that the aforesaid decision of
the Council has been referred / assailed before the Parliament.
Therefore, the respective learned counsel have sought that all these
matters be disposed of in terms of the Council of Common Interests’ decision
on Agenda Item 14 bearing NO. CCI.14/1/2019 dated 23.12.2019, referred to
supra. Order accordingly.
It was articulated on behalf of the petitioners that their liberty to challenge
the vires of the enactment, as and when occasion arises, not be curtailed by
orders herein. The respondents’ learned counsel articulated no cavil in such
regard. Order accordingly.
Office is instructed to place copy of this order in connected matters
Judge
Judge
Amjad
3
Article 154(7) - If the Federal Government or a Provincial Government is
dissatisfied with a decision of the Council, it may refer the matter to Majlis-e-
Shoora (Parliament) in a joint sitting whose decision in this behalf shall be final.
