Islamabad, July 17, 2025: In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court allows promotion after retirement, granting a major win for retired government officers across Pakistan. The ruling confirms that eligible officials can receive pro forma promotions, even after leaving service.
A three-member bench led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, with Justices Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, announced the decision on Wednesday. The judgment came in response to a petition by former AIG Sindh Ghulam Qadir Thebo, who had been repeatedly denied promotion to Grade 22 despite a clean and consistent performance record.
The court heard the matter on June 4 at its Karachi Branch Registry. Thebo had challenged the Sindh High Court’s January 2022 verdict, which rejected his promotion plea. The Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s decision, ordering a fresh review by the High Powered Selection Board (HPSB) under Fundamental Rule 17.
Justice Mazhar, authoring the five-page judgment, criticized the HPSB’s reliance on vague and unverified remarks. The court ruled that Thebo’s missing 2019 evaluation was not his fault, as he had not been posted to any field role that year. It emphasized that the board must provide clear and unbiased reasoning when denying promotions.
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The ruling also reaffirmed that pro forma promotion is a legal right, not a favor. Government officials who fulfill all promotion criteria must be evaluated fairly—even post-retirement.
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This Ghulam Qadir Thebo promotion case sets a strong precedent for government officer promotion after retirement, especially for those wrongfully passed over due to flawed assessments or internal politics. The HPSB has now been instructed to re-evaluate the case and issue a fresh decision within two months.
