Pensioners decry delay in payments by BISE Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The pensioners of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar have voiced concern over the prolonged delay in release of their pension payments, saying their cases have been pending for over a year despite clear directions from the Finance Department.

Talking to The News, several former employees and their family members complained that their pensions had been withheld for more than a year on what they termed as unfounded pretexts.

They said the Finance Department had already authorized the board authorities to handle such cases locally without referring them to the Local Fund Audit.

According to the pensioners, the former chairman of BISE Peshawar, along with other officials, had established a local pension cell in accordance with the Finance Department’s directives and made a policy decision to resolve pension cases at the board level.

They shared a copy of the official letter issued by the Finance Department to the Director Local Fund Audit, which clearly states that the chairman of the board is the competent authority to sanction pension cases.

The letter also advises that pending cases at BISE Peshawar be resolved on the pattern of other boards, such as BISE Mardan, which already handles such matters internally. However, the pensioners alleged that when the case files were presented before the new chairman of the board for approval and release of funds, he again referred the matter to the Finance Department, which would further delay the process.

“Our families are entirely dependent on these pensions, which have been pending for over a year. The delay has made our lives miserable, yet the board authorities seem unmoved,” one of the retired employees said.

When contacted, BISE Peshawar Chairman Khuda Bakhsh confirmed that the matter was under process. “We have sent a formal letter to BISE Mardan to learn how they handle such cases. Once we receive their response, we will proceed in the same manner,” he told this reporter.

He explained that previously, the Local Fund Audit was responsible for approving such cases. “Now that the Local Fund Audit is no longer handling them, there is some confusion about which authority is to process these cases,” he added.

A copy of the Finance Department’s letter addressed to the Director Local Fund Audit reads: “Since the services of BISE employees are regulated under the NWFP BISE Act, 1990, which contains a specific chapter (VIII) on pension matters, Rule 8 states that ‘the authority competent to sanction the grant of pension shall be the authority competent to fill the post vacated by the servant of the Board retiring on pension.’ Hence, the chairman of a Board is competent to sanction pensions. Some boards have already established their own pension cells to examine cases. Therefore, if the Local Fund Audit Directorate receives any pension case from a Board, it may direct the Board to examine the case at its own level on the pattern of other Boards, such as BISE Mardan.” 

The pensioners urged the authorities to take immediate notice of the matter and ensure early release of their long-pending dues.