A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal of the National Press Trust (NPT) and directed it to release past pension benefits of late columnist and veteran journalist Shafqat Tanvir Mirza (STM). The bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial also directed the NPT (formerly Progressive Papers Limited) that pension "must be released along with compensation and 10 percent mark up (on money) withheld for the last 20 years".
A single bench on April 23 last year had directed the NPT to release the withheld pension and other back benefits to Shafqat Tanvir Mirza.