Note :English version of my Urdu Article-41 of dated 27-11-2017 generated by AI ChatGPT
Article-41
The Trust Deed and the Legal Obligation to Pay PTCL Pensioners Pension According to Federal Government Pension Rules
Introduction
A large number of PTCL employees and pensioners are either unaware of, or only vaguely familiar with, the Trust Deed under which pension benefits for former T&T, PTC and PTCL employees were intended to be protected and paid.
This Trust Deed constitutes one of the most important legal documents governing the pension rights of employees who originally served in the Telegraph and Telephone Department (T&T), later became employees of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC), and subsequently became employees of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
The significance of this Trust Deed lies in the fact that it was created specifically to ensure that these employees and pensioners would continue to receive pensionary benefits equivalent to those granted by the Federal Government to its own pensioners.
Historical Background
In December 1991, the Federal Government established Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) through the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act, 1991.
Under Section 9(1) of the PTC Act, all departmental employees of the T&T Department who were civil servants immediately before the establishment of PTC were transferred to the Corporation.
Although these employees ceased to be civil servants after joining PTC, their existing terms and conditions of service remained protected exactly as they existed immediately before their transfer from T&T.
Furthermore, Section 9(2) of the PTC Act expressly prohibited PTC from altering those protected service conditions in any manner that would place transferred employees at a disadvantage.
This protection included pensionary rights and retirement benefits which had accrued to them under the Federal Government service structure.
Creation of the PTC Employees Pension Fund
Once employees became employees of PTC, they could no longer legally draw pension directly from the Federal Government pension fund.
Therefore, the Government decided to establish a separate pension fund within PTC known as:
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Employees Pension Fund.
To administer this fund, PTC itself was appointed Trustee.
A formal Trust Deed was executed on 2 April 1994.
The Trust Deed was signed on behalf of PTC by six trustees, including:
Mr. Masood Ahmed, Chairman PTC
Syed Zahid Hasan, Member Finance
Mr. Shamim Ahmed, Member Administration
Syed A.A. Naqvi, Director General Planning
Syed Nasrullah A. Ghaznavi, Chief Accounts Officer
Mr. Allah Bakhsh Kalwar, Director Pension Fund
The purpose of the Trust Deed was simple and clear:
To ensure that retired employees of T&T and employees transferred from T&T to PTC would continue to receive pension and related benefits equivalent to those payable by the Federal Government to its pensioners.
Important Provisions of the Trust Deed
The Trust Deed established several fundamental principles:
1. Retirement Age
The normal retirement age was fixed at 60 years.
2. Qualifying Service
A minimum qualifying service of ten years was required for pension entitlement.
3. Preservation of Government Pension Rights
All departmental employees transferred from T&T to PTC under Section 9 of the PTC Act were entitled to receive pensionary benefits in accordance with the Federal Government pension rules applicable to them before their transfer.
4. Family Pension Rights
Widows, children and other eligible dependents were entitled to family pension and related benefits after the death of a pensioner.
5. Pensioners Residing Abroad
The Trust Deed also protected pension rights of eligible pensioners residing outside Pakistan.
The Reorganization of 1996 and Creation of PTET
The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 dissolved PTC and divided its assets and functions among various successor entities.
Two of the most important entities created under this Act were:
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) under Section 35.
Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET) under Section 44.
The creation of PTET was not intended to alter, reduce or eliminate pension rights.
Rather, PTET was established as the successor trustee responsible for administering pension obligations that had previously been managed by PTC.
Transfer of Pension Assets and Liabilities to PTET
Section 45(1) of the 1996 Act transferred the entire Pension Fund together with all associated liabilities to PTET.
Consequently, the pension fund became an asset of PTET, while the obligation to pay pension became a continuing legal liability of PTET.
Section 45(2) further required:
Actuarial determination of pension liabilities.
Financial contributions by PTCL.
Annual funding obligations.
Acceptance of pension liabilities from the date PTCL came into existence on 1 January 1996.
Investment income, donations and other receipts to be credited to the Fund.
The legislative scheme clearly demonstrates that PTET was intended to be a funding and administrative mechanism for payment of pensions, not an authority empowered to redefine pension rights.
Legal Implications
The combined effect of:
Section 9 of the PTC Act, 1991;
The Trust Deed dated 2 April 1994;
Sections 36, 44 and 45 of the Re-organization Act, 1996;
indicates that transferred employees retained protected pensionary rights derived from their Federal Government service conditions.
The pension fund itself was merely transferred from one trustee (PTC) to another trustee (PTET).
The nature of the pension entitlement was never legislatively altered.
The Trust Deed contemplated continuity, not reduction.
It provided a mechanism through which Federal Government-equivalent pension could continue to be paid after corporatization and later privatization.
Critical Analysis
A crucial legal question arises:
Can PTET lawfully pay pension at a rate lower than that payable by the Federal Government to similarly situated pensioners?
A strong argument exists that it cannot.
The Trust Deed, read together with the protective provisions of the 1991 and 1996 statutes, suggests that PTET was entrusted with implementing existing pension rights rather than creating new or lesser pension regimes.
If pension increases, family pension enhancements, restoration benefits, or other pensionary improvements granted by the Federal Government formed part of the protected pension structure, any unilateral reduction or curtailment by PTET would be open to legal challenge.
This view gains further support from subsequent judicial pronouncements, including the Supreme Court judgments in the Masood Ahmed Bhatti cases and the PTET pension litigation, where the courts repeatedly emphasized the protection of vested and accrued rights of transferred employees.
Conclusion
The Trust Deed of 2 April 1994 was not merely an administrative document. It was the foundation upon which the pension rights of former T&T, PTC and PTCL employees were intended to be preserved.
The pension fund was created by the Federal Government for the benefit of transferred employees. PTC was first appointed trustee, and PTET later became the successor trustee under the 1996 Act.
The transfer of trusteeship never meant the transfer or reduction of pension rights.
The central purpose of the Trust Deed, the PTC Act, 1991 and the Re-organization Act, 1996 was to ensure that employees who had originally served under the Federal Government would continue to receive protected pensionary benefits throughout their retirement.
Any interpretation that permits arbitrary reduction of those protected benefits would be difficult to reconcile with the language, structure and purpose of the governing statutory framework.
Muhammad Tariq Azhar
Retired General Manager (OPS), PTCL
(Revised English Edition with Legal Commentary)
Additional Observation
From a legal perspective, your strongest point is not merely the Trust Deed itself, but the combination of:
Section 9 of the PTC Act, 1991.
The Trust Deed dated 02-04-1994.
Sections 36, 44 and 45 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996.
The Supreme Court judgments in Masood Ahmed Bhatti v Federation of Pakistan and PTCL v Masood Ahmed Bhatti.
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