An story:UNLESS WE OURSELVES BECOME A NEWS
UNLESS WE OURSELVES BECOME A NEWS
Abdul Razzaq Siddiqui of Karachi is 78 years old sick and blind. Through his letter 21 January 2006 he explains how troublesome it is for him to be taken every month to National Savings Center where it takes hours, no sitting facilities, how costly getting proper transport for old and above all one relative to take one day off from office to accompany. He wonders why an authorized representative can not attend and withdraw from his pensioners investment account. Mr. Razzaq should first understand that miseries of others are only a news for us unless we ourselves become a news. A few years back a retired officer in Lahore died jumping from fourth floor of his own ex office. Reason was his own ex-colleagues for the last many months still had not prepared his pension papers. He tasted the same medicine which he was giving to others when they visited for their pension. The interim government of Ch. Choudhary Shujat for the first time officially recognized that in this old age a retired person becomes physically weak and needs some comfort at home. But what he practically did was nothing except free entry to Zoos and “merely in books” respect for senior citizens. In 1990 on my petition terming it a humanitarian issue raised by the citizen petitioner the then Federal Ombudsman directed the demised Pakistan Banking Council that in future there would be joint accounts in the Banks. The national newspapers wrote editorials praising this decision. In 1995 a Lahore citizen raised the same issue that decision should also be applicable to National Savings and Pakistan Post Office who also deal with similar accounts. State Bank of Pakistan resisted that it had no jurisdiction over these two departments. The Federal Ombudsman however terming that the issue was important and of public interest directed the SBP to implement it. National Savings and Pakistan Post Office never implemented and did not allow pensioner investors to have joint accounts. My mother is 75. She is picked up every month on Taxi never running on meter and with her trembling hands she is to scribble her signature in the Center which are even then not recognized. For the last more than 5 years I have addressed to more than 20 who matter drawing their attention to this humanitarian cause. But never got any response. Having failed to get any headway from any other sector last year I raised the issue once again. The dealing officer from Ombudsman Secretariat informed me that decision was already implemented!! On the other hand however the same SBP whom in 1995 the Ombudsman directed to implement was telling me these two organizations were not under its control which in other words mean it never attended to or cared for 1995 Federal Ombudsman Order. I have now written to His Excellency the President of Pakistan who really has a great hear for common man and wishes very sincerely to do something for masses. The issues relates to masses and not affects the legislators, ministers or the senior top bureaucracy as they do not need drawing pension monthly nor do they need to attend National Savings as they are to withdrawn through credit cards, voice banking hence Mr. Abdul Razaq should not have any high hope that someone will listen to his cries. Remember the senior bureaucrat who advised the Government of the time not to implement the Federal Ombudsman decision about removal of disparity of pension between new and old and advised the government to go in appeal, on his retirement was getting Rs. 1.20 lacs monthly just a rent from his rented bungalow. So why should this category need any pension or attending to National Savings? National Savings, as I understand take the shelter that a son, a wife or a daughter cannot be allowed as a joint signatory with an old pensioner investor as this facility could be misused. It is totally un-logical similarly as National Savings had some other rules non existing elsewhere in the world. For example once, I was told that within the same city transfer of an account was not allowed. When I took up the matter an argument of really no sense came that within the same city transfer there is a “risk” involved while transfer from one city to another city was safe. There is no logic in National savings refusal not allowing joint account. There are many techniques one can by passing such a foolish rule invest in so called pensioners accounts but the point is lack of normal human sympathies and spirit of welfare of people.
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Monday, February 26, 2007
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