LAHORE - 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.
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