As a pensioner, I have been requesting for the benefits from the PQA chairman for the last three years.
KARACHI: It is true that the former President of Pakistan, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, had sanctioned medical allowance with effect from July 1, 2010 to ‘all’ civil pensioners of the federal government. But the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), just to deceit pensioners, has played a trick and doggedly deleted the word ‘all’ from the finance division (Regulation Wing) OM No.F-16 (1)-Reg.6/2010-778 dated July 5, 2010 and is only paying this allowance to those employees who were retired after superannuation and those who were retired under early retirement scheme after completion of 25, 26 or 28 years of service have been disregarded and dragged to worries and woes. They are sighing in frustration and running from pillar to post but to no avail.
Whatsoever has been depicted above is first an issue of fact. The second issue is that of payment: seven per cent cost of living allowance (CoLA) to the pensioners who were drawing this allowance before retirement and were not benefited by the revised basic pay scale (BPS) 2001. This allowance is payable in pursuance of the judgment of the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) in an appeal in 2006 which was upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and approved by the Government of Pakistan.
As a pensioner, I have been requesting for the benefits from the PQA chairman for the last three years but nothing positive has emerged till this day. Reticence over the course of such a long time seems to be prejudice and also makes one fearer that PQA is paving the way for squeezing the rights of pensioners.
I would, therefore, like to draw the attention of the federal government authorities, specifically the secretary finance and the secretary ports and shipping and beseech them that kindly with an unbending spirit of sympathy immediately intervene in the matter so as to help us pensioners in this age of inflation which is soaring and not slipping. Everybody knows that cost of utilities and consumables is increasing by the day. The PQA management may, therefore, be asked to pay allowances to pensioners without any further delay.
Habibullah Abro
Published in The Express Tribune, August 5th, 2014.
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