Ungrateful, unjust

For the first time in decades, thousands of retired Radio Pakistan employees are not being paid their monthly pensions. This total denial of pension payment has happened following a period where pensions were being paid on an irregular and often delayed basis. In addition, the incumbent federal government has replaced Radio Pakistan's own pay scales with the government pay scales. According to the government pay scales, retired and serving Radio Pakistan employees are now also entitled to receive a medical allowance but this is also being denied to them thus far.

This is no way to treat employees who have worked long and hard for one of the most storied and important institutions in the country’s history. Radio Pakistan gave the people a voice and was the main source of news and information before TV arrived on the scene. It is quite disgraceful to mete out this kind of treatment to the people who made all that possible now that radio is no longer a major player in the media scene. Do we simply discard people and institutions once they are past their prime and leave them to fend for themselves?

M Z Rifat

Lahore