ABS & Co has examined the recent decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), presided over by Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, which dismissed five constitutional petitions challenging the disengagement of employees appointed under the Death Compensation Package by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). The judgment affirms the legality of PAEC’s contractual employment framework and clarifies the scope of constitutional jurisdiction in contractual service disputes.
The petitions, filed by various employees, were considered expeditiously following comprehensive and persuasive arguments presented by Advocate Usman Jillani, Advocate Anusha Fakhr-e-Alam, and Eshan Attique. ABS & Co Partner Usman Jillani demonstrated that the petitioners were engaged solely on a contractual basis under the National Command Authority (NCA) Employees Service Rules, 2011, and that the NCA Act, 2010, by virtue of its overriding clause, prevails over the PAEC Ordinance of 1965. He further established that the petitioners had no vested right to regularization, as their contracts contained clear termination provisions that were lawfully invoked.
The Court accepted these submissions, holding that the petitioners’ employment was governed by non-statutory rules, that their contracts had either expired or been lawfully terminated, and that disputes arising from contractual service do not fall within the constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 199. Justice Soomro observed that any remedy available to the petitioners lies in the civil domain under contract law rather than through constitutional proceedings.
The ruling reaffirms the legal structure governing strategic institutions and represents a significant success for PAEC, achieved through the decisive and structured advocacy of Usman Jillani, leading to the swift resolution of the matter.
This matter was handled by Usman Jillani, Partner at ABS & Co.
