Pensioners’ woes

The Senate has rekindled a waning, faint hope of old pensioners by passing a resolution unanimously to increase pension of old, retired government servants in accordance with the increase in prices prevailing in the country. How much increase would there be has not been specified and left to financial pundits to work it out.
While the increase is yet to be decided our senator should take into account an old demand of old pensioners to the ‘One Grade/Rank One Pension’ formula, which is in vogue in many civilised countries. I, as a lieutenant-colonel was pensioned off at Rs1,660 in 1977 as against Rs50,000 or Rs60,000 that a lieutenant-colonel gets today.
Col (r) Riaz Jafri
Rawalpindi