This common judgment shall dispose of Writ Petitions Nos.15751 of 1996, 1796 of 1997, 5892-S of 1996 Multan, 5893-S of 1996 Multan, 5901 of 1996 Multan, 5908-S of 1996 Multan, 5909-S of 1996 Multan, 5910-S of 1996 Multan, 6925-S of 1996 Multan, 7827-S of 1996 Multan, 3221-S of 1996/BWP, 3381-S of 1996/BWP, 3382-S of 1996/BWP, 3383-S of 1996/BWP and 3790-S of 1996/BWP as they involve the common questions of law and the petitioners being employees of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundations whose service were terminated by the impugned orders.
2. At the outset, the learned counsel for the respondents raised a preliminary objection that the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation was established and controlled by the Federal Government.
Therefore, only remedy available to the petitioners was by way of filing appeals before the Federal Service Tribunal by virtue of addition of section 2-A in the Federal-Service Tribunals Act, 1973.
3. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the petitioners argued that section 2-A of the Federal Service Tribunals Act, 1973, was neither applicable to ex-employees nor could be attracted to the present cases in 'Which the termination of service had been ordered prior to the addition of the aforesaid provision. It was further argued that at the most, the serving employees of the Foundations could invoke the jurisdiction of the Federal Service Tribunal. It was lastly submitted that the petitioners were not civil servants or persons in the service of Pakistan. The terms and conditions of the petitioners were not regulated by any statute enacted by the Parliament in terms of Article 240 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
4. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length. The memorandum and Articles of Association. of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (a company incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Ordinance, 1984) would clearly show that five out of seven Governors of the Board of Governors of the Foundation, were the official nominees of the Federal Government. For all practical purposes and legal consequences, the Foundation was established and controlled by the Federal Government. The rules of Business of the Federal Government are also to the same effect. It was not denied that the Managing Director of the Foundation was always appointed by the Federal Government. The petitioners were aggrieved by the impugned orders of termination of their service. The provisions of section 2-A, of the Federal Service Tribunals Act, 1973, providing a remedy would operate retrospectively. Reference may be (made to the cases of Habib Bank Limited and others v. Syed Zia-ul-Hassan Kazmi (1998 SCMR 60); United Bank Limited and others v. Ahsan Akhtar and others (1998 SCMR 68); Ghulam Mustafa Khairati v. Federation of Pakistan and another (1998 SCMR 1603); Sahibzada K.A.K. Afridi v. Pakistan International Airlines Corporation through Chairman and 3 others (1998 SCMR 2607); Muhammad Afzal v. Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and 2 others (1999 SCMR 92); Syed Aftab Ahmed and others v. K.E.S.C. and others (1999 SCMR 197); S. Zafar Ejaz v. Chairman, Steel Mills Corporation (1998 PLC (CS) 777) and Haider Abbas v. Pakistan through the Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad and 2 others (1998 PLC (CS) 627).
5. I need not examine the other question raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners as the Federal Service Tribunal may be persuaded to give its findings on the same. Needless to say that ordinarily the questions of law and fact can also be gone into by an appropriate Service Tribunal.
Reference may be made to the cases of I.A. Sherwani and others v. Government of Pakistan through Secretary, Finance Division, Islamabad and others (1991 SCMR 1041) and Province of the Punjab through Secretary , Health Department v. Dr. S. Muhammad Zafar Bulchari (PLD 1997 SC 351).
6. For the foregoing reasons, I do not find any merit in these writ petitions which are dismissed with no order as to costs.