Guide
A problem with a government job
or a pension
A government job in Pakistan has its own rules and its own courts. A dismissal, a promotion that went to someone else, a pension that was never paid: these are called service matters, and they do not go to the ordinary courts. This page names the route.
Where this applies This page covers people employed by the state in Pakistan, and their pensions. Private employment is on the next page.
What this is about
Service matters go first to the department itself, through an appeal inside it, and then to a service tribunal. Which tribunal depends on whether the employer is the federal government or a province. Pensions follow the same road, and pension cases are often brought by a widow or a child living abroad.
The rule that trips people up is time. Each step has a period within which it has to be taken, and a late appeal is often the end of the matter.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
Who the employer was: federal, provincial, or a body under one of them.
What was decided, and when you were told.
Whether an appeal inside the department has been made.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What an advocate asks for.
- The appointment letter and service record.
- The order you are challenging, and the date you received it.
- For a pension: the pension papers, and the family record if you claim as a survivor.
- Your power of attorney.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Tells you which tribunal, and whether you are in time.
- Files the departmental appeal and then the tribunal case.
- Pursues an unpaid pension, including for survivors abroad.
What to ask before you agree
- Which tribunal hears this, and am I still in time?
- Has the appeal inside the department been made, and does it have to come first?
- Have you pursued a pension for someone living abroad?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Work
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- service matter
- A dispute about employment by the state.
- service tribunal
- The court that hears service matters.
- pension
- The payment after retirement, or to survivors.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.