Sindh High Court Warns of Freezing KMC, Town Accounts Over Non-Payment of Retired Employees’ Pensions

Karachi: The Sindh High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the non-payment of pension dues to retired employees of local government institutions, warning authorities of strict action, including the possible freezing of bank accounts.
A constitutional bench of the court, headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, heard a contempt of court petition filed against the Mayor of Karachi and others regarding the non-payment of pensions and other dues. On the request of the government lawyer, the court granted a two-week extension and also sought detailed account records of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs).
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Usman Farooq, informed the court that in May 2025, it had already ordered the payment of pensionary benefits and directed the Finance Department to address funding shortages. The court had also instructed KMC to continue pension payments for two years.
Despite these orders, the counsel argued, pension payments have been completely stopped, causing severe financial hardship to retired employees.
Taking serious notice of the situation, the court remarked that the accounts of KMC and TMCs should be frozen as the institutions had failed to comply with its directives. However, after assurances from the government lawyer that the dues would be cleared within the given time, the court granted a two-week extension.
The court further warned that if the outstanding payments are not cleared within the stipulated time, it will proceed with freezing the accounts of the concerned departments.