Why can’t citizens, who have served the country diligently, get a good amount of pension at the twilight of life?
KARACHI: This is with reference to the letter in your newspaper, titled “Insufficient pensions” (May 29) by Raja Shafaatullah. While I agree with its contents, I would also like to add that the government had started increasing salaries only in the last decade or so.
I suggest that the government should think seriously about making a uniform, ‘one rank, one pension’ policy for the retirees of the civil service, armed forces, public-sector retirees, etc. I retired from the Pakistan Air Force in 1987 and today, my pension is around Rs6,500 only. On the other hand, an officer of my rank today draws a salary of nearly 10 times my pension. Though it is difficult to equalise salaries with pensions, some effort must be made to adjust pensions in accordance with the salaries. Isn’t such a nominal pension a grave injustice to those who served in the armed forces to secure the country from external and internal threats? Is not the same kind of injustice towards government officials a practice that fails to honour their services and give them their due?
Recently, I learnt that two bulletproof cars worth Rs220 million (in addition to probably many bulletproof cars already available) were acquired for the security of our honourable prime minister. If our tax money can be used in such a way for our leaders, then why can’t citizens, who have served the country diligently, get a good amount of pension at the twilight of life? Particularly in times when the cost of everything, including the utilities, especially medicines, medical tests and all sorts of basic health care is also on the rise?
The problem can’t simply be resolved by questioning the conscience of our leaders. We also need able policymakers who can go around the pension policies of the government and prescribe prudent solutions.
M Asif
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2014.
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