LAHORE - The federal courts employees are waiting for justice to be done as a petition seeking raise in their salaries is still pending in the Lahore High Court. The writ was filed in 2009 in accordance with the National Judicial Policy-Making Committees 2008 announcement. The banking courts employees had filed the petition in the court of Justice Sh. Azmat Saeed. The raise-awarding Committee was headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and attended by the chief justices of all the High Courts and the Federal Law Secretary. The petition was filed by Muhammad Akram, etc. Vs the Government of Pakistan, etc. The plaintiffs had taken the plea that the Federal Law Secretary was directed by the NJPMC to raise the salaries of the subordinates of the judicial officers. The employees (subordinates) of High Courts and even of lower courts have been awarded the raise, but the employees of about 35 banking courts and of other federal courts, inclusive of the Accountability Courts and Anti-Terrorism Courts, are working on the unsatisfactory salaries. On last Saturday and Sunday (May 21, 22), the meeting of NJPMC was held in which even the approval (recommendation) regarding raise in the salaries of the employees of National Judicial Academy was given and an application (appeal) of federal courts employees was not kept on the agenda. The employees deplored that according to announcement of the NJPMC, the raise in salaries to court employees should be given first to subordinates of the judicial officers and then any other law organizations officials or employees. It is pertinent to mention here that LHC would decided the fate of the federal courts employees regarding raise in their salaries, but the employees said that they are tired of the process of the re-listing process of their petition. They demanded that the LHC should also decide their fate in the era of dearness soon so that they could manage their house budgets also which are upset on account of unsatisfactory earning (salary). The petitioner (Muhammad Akram) pleaded that the federal courts employees of grades 11 and 15 are getting salaries ranging from 12000 to 1500s and 15000 to 22000 respectively, which are less than the salary of a senior peon of any high court of the country. The federal courts employees alleged requesting anonymity that Federal Law Secretary was reluctant to raise their salaries. Meanwhile, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court Tuesday called for the reply from the respondents to a petition which has challenged the merger of Punjab Cooperative Board for Liquidation allegedly with Cooperative department, Punjab. The petition has been filed by Syed Muhammad Iqbal Jafree grousing against the alleged merger which he contends, would lead to the plundering and looting of Rs 100 billion assets of the Board. The petitioner pointed out that in order to advance the merger, the authorities concerned had recently removed its chairman Nazar Chauhan and that as many as 1100 kanals of the Board land has been illegally allegedly grabbed by a political figure.