ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) workers – in-service and retired – have been left stunned and worried about their future/old age as the in-house meeting of the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) declared the pension to officers/staff/officials illegal, directing the concerned to take up the matter of discontinuing pension payment and devise another mechanism of benefit to the employees.
With the PSB’s Board of Governors set to meet today (Wednesday), fears are there that if such recommendations were approved, the workers would be deprived of their due status and benefits of old age.
Over one thousand families could be left struggling to make both ends meet if the ministry goes ahead with its plan to stop employees’ pension.
“I have just retired after serving the PSB for over 35 years. All of a sudden I learnt that the ministry plans to declare the pension illegal. They are government servants themselves. What would be the ministry officials’ reaction if they are deprived of their pension? We have served in the PSB with utmost dedication and possibly have devoted more time to the government job than most of the ministry officials. I would request the minister for IPC to reject such recommendations. Since the minister is from the party of workers and labourers (PPP), we want them to reconsider such a decision,” a former PSB employee said.
Another employee, who retired from the PSB almost five years back, said that he was entirely dependent on the pension he receives.
“I would be totally broken as I am fully dependent on my pension that caters to the need of my children who are in school-going age. I am shocked to learn about ministry’s decision.”
“We have been left with no option but to approach Asif Ali Zardari whose nominee is now heading the ministry.
“When you have weak director general such things are bound to happen. Recently, Air Conditioners were taken away. Electricity wires worth millions of rupees were stolen and even in some of the places AC’s outers were taken away. These days the PSB is interested in carpeting those roads which were carpeted only two years back.”
The ministry meeting held in the second half of June also declared PSB director general’s appointment as the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) as illegal.
“As per the government rules, the secretary IPC should be the PAO. The legal advisor of the PSB apprised that the DG PSB has been designated PAO of the PSB since he is the Chief Executive and designation has been assigned in that sense. The chair did not agree with the clarification and asked to substitute PAO with another suitable designation in the PSB Constitution 2022.”
The PSB’s Board agenda meeting included an item that had already brought a bad name to the country recently. The former minister for IPC Dr Fehmida Mirza constituted a parallel anti-doping body against the Anti-Doping Organization of Pakistan (ADOP) headed by Dr Waqar Ahmad. Following a detailed investigation, WADA declared the parallel NADO illegal and called the ministry to stay away from such a venture. Pakistan has already come under severe criticism from the international sports community. All efforts to approach the Minister went fruitless.