The retired employees of Pakistan have urged the government to announce a significant increase in monthly pensions and related allowances including medical allowance in the upcoming Federal Budget 2024-25.
Members of the retired employees’ organization HOPE after an emergency meeting appealed to Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to pay attention to their grievances and announce a raise in pensions and medical allowance in line with current rate of inflation and price hike.
The meeting that was presided over by Malik Irshad Ahmed Awan and attended by the federal and provincial leadership said that pensioners were facing enormous financial burden and crunch due to inflation and high prices.
Those who attended the meeting included Central Chairman Muhammad SiddiqueLatki, Ishtiaq Ahmed Bhatti, Secretary General Akmal Zia, Founder of HOPE MirzaAsadBaig and Malik Sobar Khan.
They called for a 100pc increase in monthly pension and 200pc increase in the medical allowance which has been frozen since 2015.
They regretted that the financial institutions of Pakistan are at the mercy of the international financial institutions which do not let them devise and design pro-poor policies.
We, the retired employees of Pakistan’s different government departments have been facing a hard time due to record increase in inflation and prices of the items of daily use.
It is a pity the medical allowance has been frozen since 2015 while the prices of medicine have been increased multiple times.
We have to spend most of our income on medicines, transport, house rent, etc. in the developed world, the governments are alive towards the hardships of their people particularly the elderly and the ailing people.
They take care of their housing, comfort, medical needs etc. Unfortunately, in Pakistan we have to remind our governments to take care of their elderly people. It is time PM Sharif should take steps and direct those entrusted with budget making proposals to keep in mind the hardships of the pensioners, they said.
