Random thoughts: Senior citizens

You must have heard that Pakistan has an untapped wealth of about 120 million youth. Unfortunately, most of them are uneducated, untrained and jobless and are not making a contribution towards the development of the country. This makes them vulnerable to recruitment by undesirable elements who brainwash them into committing terrorist activities. The fault lies with our system of education. This is an area that has been neglected by incompetent, inefficient and often dishonest bureaucrats and administrators – ghost schools being a point in question.   

In 2000, I had sent a proposal to General Musharraf to start an educational-cum-vocational training programme in Fata. Along with my former finance member, Muhammad Faheem (a secretary in the Ministry of Finance) and Dr. Nazir Ahmad (DG Industrial Liaison), we had prepared a useful and pragmatic plan to educate and train the young generation in Fata. The plan was to teach them modern subjects along with technical training. This programme would have greatly enhanced their chances of obtaining gainful employment and reduced their chances of being recruited into terrorism-related activities. Unfortunately, nothing ever came out of it and there was no reaction to this constructive proposal.

In addition to the youth, we also have a well-educated, experienced force of senior citizens. The number of senior citizens in the country is estimated at being 8.7 million. A few of them are part of the Senior Citizens Foundation of Pakistan. Their head office is in Islamabad and there are branches in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore and Wah. I am currently the president of this organisation, Akbar Hayat Gandapur is the vice-president, H M Chohan is the secretary, Hafeezuddin is the information secretary and F I Qureshi is the finance secretary. All these men have been federal secretaries with decades of invaluable experience. Members of the organisation include professors, scientists, doctors, economists, politicians, administrators, diplomats, water experts and engineers. It is unfortunate that this wealth of available knowledge has never been tapped by any of our rulers or even the Pakistan Engineering Council and the Pakistan Academy of Sciences to

advice and offer input for any important national projects or solve local problems. In developed countries, think tanks consisting of senior citizens are set up and governments regularly benefit from them. Funds are provided to these think tanks and requests for advice on policy matters and/or specific projects and problems are forwarded to them.

Senior Citizens Day is celebrated all over the world on October 1 every year. On account of Muharram, we celebrated it on October 7 this year. Our celebration and annual meeting took place in the auditorium of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences where, like every year, two senior citizens were honoured with the distinguished Senior Citizen of Pakistan Award. This year, the winners were Dr Naeem Ghani and Mr Akbar Hayat Gandapur.

Dr. Naeem Ghani is an eminent medical specialist. A graduate from King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Nishtar Medical College, Multan and Kings College, London, he has visited more than 30 countries in connection with his profession. Apart from working in Pakistan, he had a long distinguished career in Saudi Arabia where he had the unique honour of being the visiting honorary companion to King Suleman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. Dr Ghani has concentrated on welfare work in Pakistan since 1992. He has established numerous free medical clinics in Rawalpindi and Islamabad as well as conventional and non-conventional educational institutions. He is the chairman of the Sultana Foundation – a non-profit organisation working in the fields of education and healthcare – and the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Council – which is committed to the realisation of promise of Pakistan. He is also the author of numerous publications.

Akbar Hayat Gandapur is an administrator with three master’s degrees to his name – public administration (Punjab University), economics (KP) and defence and strategic Studies (QAU). During his service, he acquired training in rural development administration, project evaluation and review techniques, investment analysis and decision-making. He speaks English, Urdu, Pashto, Punjabi and Seraiki. During the course of his work, he has been able to travel to many countries and has interacted with various other cultures, which has greatly influenced his approach to life and society. As vice-president of the Senior Citizens Foundation of Pakistan, he contributed his time and experience generously and with great devotion to the cause of the welfare of senior citizens.

A large number of problems faced by senior citizens need urgent remedial action by the government. The first problem are the constantly rising prices of medicines, which the government have been unable to control. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan recently even allowed an increase in price by 30 percent. For senior citizens, medicines are part and parcel of life and increasing prices place a heavy burden on them. The government should take firm measures to regulate the prices of medicines.    

The second concern involves the Senior Citizens Bill. The draft of this bill was finalised by the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development and the National Council for Social Welfare. It has been languishing with the government for many years. It should be presented in parliament without further delay. Only Punjab lags behind as legislation has already been passed in KP, Sindh and Balochistan.      The third problem is the age at which pensioners qualify for a 25 percent increase in pensions. This is currently applicable to those who are 85 and above. This age limit makes the number of beneficiaries negligible. This scheme could have a greater impact if it is made applicable to people who are 75 and older as it would make life a lot easier for many old people.          It is hoped that the government of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will take urgent action to solve these problems.

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com