The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed its registrar's office to club all the appeals pertaining to reinstatement of government employees and fix the matter for hearing by Nov 01.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed while hearing cases pertaining to reinstatement of sacked government employees remarked that some people consider this country as their personal property.
"The sacked employees were reinstated and given all the perks and privileges, as if this country is the personal property of people," he remarked.
After coming into power in 2008, the then Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, through an Act - The Sacked Employees (reinstatement) Act 2010 (SEA) - had reinstated over 9,000 government employees in 25 federal ministries and allied departments, who were inducted during the previous regime of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and then terminated in the following government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Justice Gulzar questioned: "Is the national kitty a charity? No one care about the hard-earned money of taxpayer. Whoever wants ruthlessly plunders the national wealth".
In another case, the apex court rejected the appeal of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) against the salaries and perks of its employees.
Justice Gulzar said that the bank had done too much with its employees, adding the bank is forcing its old employees to work at low salaries.
"It's a big bank and why don't you treat your employees equally? Old employees are more experienced," he added.
The counsel for the NBP Ahmer Bilal Sufi said that due to competition in the market with private commercial banks in 2001, the salaries and perks of the newly hired people had to be increased.