The ever-increasing prices of fuel, food and utilities have made it very difficult for an average pensioner to live within the fixed amount of pension he gets every month. Due to old age and ill health factors, he cannot do any side job to supplement his pension. Thus, he is wholly dependent on pension to meet household expenses. In every welfare state, pensioners get multiple facilities. However, in Pakistan, those facilities are like a utopian dream. Now that preparations for the next budget are underway, the government is requested to consider increasing pensions by 15 to 20 per cent so that the hard-hit class of pensioners is able to get some relief.
M Sharafat Ali Zia
Islamabad
