A fight for rights

All federal and provincial government employees are under an obligation to pay group insurance premium from their monthly salary until their retirement. The Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments have adopted the system of paying group insurance money to their employees on retirement and have, therefore, enacted laws to regulate the system. However, in KP, since such payments were not being allowed to some pensioners retrospectively, they approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and their plea was accepted. An appeal made by the KP government against the PHC’s verdict was also dismissed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The federal government should have ensured that this system is properly implemented. . But it has been callously ignoring the demand of both federal government employees and pensioners and their respective associations. This is unfair because those who contribute regularly towards the group insurance scheme throughout their service have the right to claim insurance money at the time of their retirement. The authorities concerned should look into this matter and allow every retiring employee to draw the amount of group insurance plus bonuses due in each case by amending the relevant law.

M Sharafat Ali Zia

Islamabad