President Asif Ali Zardari has taken serious notice of the death of a Railways pensioner and the long queues of pensioners at the National Bank of Pakistan branch at Railways headquarters in Lahore and called for an immediate inquiry and report.
A Pakistan Railways (PR) pensioner Mehmood Khan, 65, Mehmood Khan, 65, suffered a heart attack while waiting outside a bank branch overnight for the payment on Wednesday. He was rushed to the hospital after he had fainted, but he could not make it.
Railways had assured all the employee unions that salaries and pensions would be paid by October 25 and the unions had called off the strike after the assurance. However, all these claims proved wrong when hundreds of pensioners protested in front of the PR headquarters in Lahore and the regional offices all over the country, including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta. They chanted slogans against the apathetic and callous attitude of the PR authorities. Many of them said that they totally depended on pensions.
Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the president directed the Railways Secretary to personally visit the Railways headquarters in Lahore, investigate the circumstances for the mess up, and submit a report to the PM with a copy Presidency within three days.
The President also directed the secretaries of Finance, Railways, Railways GM and president of National Bank to ensure that funds were provided and promptly disbursed to the pensioners.
He said that the pensions disbursement must not be refused on flimsy grounds and that railways authorities must be available at the Bank to help the poor pensioners.
The President also expressed profound grief over Mehmood’s death and sympathized with members of the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour announced a compensation worth Rs. 500,000 for the bereaved family. Mehmood’s family, comprising his three children, held Pakistan Railways responsible for the death.
ALLAH aisay corrupt aur be-his hukamran kisi ko na de.
Haan, Allah hi se dua mangtai rehna bhai!!! jab election aye tou vote phir inhain hi dalna, aur phir inhain bura bhala kehna!!!
Honestly, why would God help us, when we do not wish to help ourselves.
huh shameless people in our institutions
Yar i think yeh pension wala system hi khatam kar dena chayie japan ki tahra kaam karo or kamaoo yahan adhay say zadiya amount to retired logon ki pension main nikal jati hai after retirement ek grautity amount pay karo bus baat khatam
corruption na khtm karo aur pension khtm kr do good kumar sb i thnk u not know pension is the only source of income of poor and old age people in indo-pak
Let us be honest & frank. The problem is that Pakistan Railways is corrupt from top to bottom. It is fashionable to criticise those at the top. They must accept their share of the blame. But the problem is that lowest level labourer and coolies are also corrupt. It is just a game of everybody blaming everybody else. Nobody is prepared to be honest himself but wants everybody else to be honest. This is simply impossible.
I agree with Mr. Shahid Malik, he has given the correct picture of Pakistan Railways. Right from booking office clerks to ticket checkers to General Managers of Railways, everyone is corrupt and filling their bellies to the brim. I am talking of not lakhs of rupees but crores. I remember the cases of complete railway engines disappearing from Lahore railway godowns. Recently a rail bogie full of copper wire disappeared from Lahore railway station and an army captain who was involved, was arrested and removed from his job. I guess the only way to run PR is to privatise it.
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