All is well with government but all is ill with retired government employees I

ISLAMABAD:   Pensioners particularly low paid pensioners have voiced strong protest over blatant callous attitude of the government towards them in ignoring them in raising their pension even a penny during the recent announcement of hike in adhoc relief to 25 percent for government employees.

We were retired since 10 years before and our pension amount is a peanut and we can not even pay utility bills out of this meager amount what to speak of running a family financial matter, said Baba Haider with oozing sheer helplessness from his eyes.

“ I have two young daughters who are now on the way to aversion in terms of their acceptance by any family for marriage proposal due to fast declining age and my financial woes which is now turning into life long woes for my daughters and for me. In a pea nut pension I can not cover them in simple clothing what to speak of providing them precious wedding garments, he looked at the horizons with wistful looks getting wet with string of tears.

I was retired in grade 17 and now my pension stands at Rs 40000 per month and this tenuous pension even does not meet medical expenses of me and my wife being heart and sugar patients, said Abdul Wahid a retired grade 17 officer.

I had got a plot on installment from a private housing society and all my pension is spent in paying the installment which runs into Rs 25000 per month, said Muhammad Hanif a low grade retired government employees. From where I should pluck money to run my family expenses when the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities remain unbridled.

Me is widow and me have 3 daughters and widow daughter in law and her 3 children. I am getting a pension which is so little that it is mockery of pension in the name of pension, said Mai Jannat, a widow. I was expecting that Sheikh Rashid who makes daily tall claims of being sympathizer of the poor segments of society would announce some increase in pension particularly of the poor employees of grade 1 to 16 but he only filled the government employees to the fullness of their pockets who are already drawing two to three hundreds time more salaries than the private employees or daily wages laborers, she said amid tears coursing down from her aging eyes.

The 25 percent increase has been announced for all government employees which runs into thousands and in most cases beyond twenty thousand which is even more than monthly pension of majority of the pensioners. This is good step because the inflation storm triggered by the ill conceived economic policies of the government and avarice of traders and hoarders is now roaring horribly squeezing the purchasing power of common man. But We are if not serving government employees but we have rendered more service than the serving employees and in more brilliant and excellent way. What in turn has been given to us is nothing as nothing is no-thing, the pensioners complained.

Our requirements are not different from serving government employees or other citizens but the discriminatory treatment meted out to us by the government has relegated us to the second grade citizens, a group of the retired government employees said.

“ be compassionate on our nerves Sheikh Rashid sahb and raise our pensions too or the every storming inflation will efface us from the map of our life, they cried plaintively.