Nonagenarian's plea.

Byline: Raja Shafaatullah - Islamabad

OWING to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the government is in the midst of a severe crisis and unlikely to allow an increase in the pay and pensions of government employees. This will make the life of pensioners miserable, particularly those who retired more than 25 years ago. These pensioners, numbering in the hundreds, have meagre pensions which are barely enough to survive.

Then there are a few pensioners who served in the government in what was British India before partition and later in the Pakistan government. These handful of pensioners, who are still alive, are well into their 90s. Their pensions are not more than a few thousand rupees.

There is a huge gap in the pensions of those who retired in 1969 compared to those who retired in 1970. The government tried to fix this...