Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that married government employees, especially women, can change their domicile to match their spouse’s without losing their right to job promotions and postings under provincial quotas.
The judgment came from a two-member bench made up of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi. This decision removes a long-standing concern for female civil servants who often struggled to align their professional careers with their family lives due to domicile restrictions.
The case that led to this ruling was filed by Dr. Shumaila Naeem, a medical officer who had joined public service on a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) domicile. After her marriage to a civil servant from Balochistan, she legally adopted her husband’s provincial domicile and applied for a senior post at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) using her updated details.
Although she scored highest in the written test by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), she was disqualified from the interview stage based on her original KP domicile. Despite winning her appeal in the Islamabad High Court, the FPSC challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
The top court dismissed the FPSC’s objections and confirmed that married women have the legal choice to keep their original domicile or adopt their spouse’s. The court directed the FPSC to reconsider Dr. Naeem’s application within two weeks.
This judgment is expected to positively impact many women working in government roles, enabling them to seek promotions and appointments without having to live away from their spouses.
