Pakistan yet to draft national policy for older people

Islamabad: In spite of being party to several human rights treaties that talk about the rights of older people, and despite being one of the world’s 15 countries where over 13 million are aged above 60 years, Pakistan is yet to draft a national policy for older people. Furthermore, the Senior Citizens Bill for Punjab and Islamabad is also pending with the respective government departments, with no major breakthrough in sight.

October 1 is recognised as the International Day of Older People. Every year, the day is observed to raise awareness on population ageing and the rights of older people. The objective is to enable older people to lead active, secure, healthy and dignified lives. This year’s theme for the year, ‘Celebrating Older Human Rights Champions,’ celebrates the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which turns 70 this year, and reaffirms the commitment to promoting the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by older persons.

An estimated 7% of Pakistan’s population (13 million people) is over 60 years of age and this figure will rise to 44 million by 2050. Pakistan has initiated the process of legislation for older peoples’ rights. In a first, the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) approved the Senior Citizens Act in 2014, followed by Sindh and Balochistan in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Punjab has yet to enact a law for older peoples’ rights. Most importantly, older people still lack a national policy and there is no law for their protection at the federal level.

The rights of older people are often neglected and remain invisible in international human rights law, national legislation and day-to-day lives even though Pakistan is party to several treaties for older people. These include the covenant on civil and political rights, convention against torture, elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. Pakistan is also a signatory to the Madrid Plan of action on Ageing 2002, which calls for older persons to have secure income, access to healthcare, a safe place to live and an opportunity for community participation.

Older people around the world raise their voices for protection of their rights. Older campaigners have made great strides forward to protect older people’s rights by becoming agents of change. It is time Pakistan also broke stereotypes of older people as passive and dependent.

Sher Shah—one of the older campaigners from a rural area in KPK–has been campaigning for protection of rights of older people for the last 10 years. “In the beginning when we used to go to government offices, everyone would say there is no law for older peoples’ rights. We struggled for a new a law and then in 2014, the Senior Citizens Act, KP was passed; this was the first-ever legislation for the rights of older people in Pakistan. Hearing about the Act was one of my happiest and proudest moments,” he recollected. Sher Shah added that the law was passed in 2014, but has yet to be implemented in its true spirit. “Older people need immediate relief. We must have access to quality health services as well as social protection. I want to see a world where all older people are leading happy lives,” he aspired.