Overseas pensioners

This refers to the prime minister’s live call on August 1, during which he consented to look into the dilemma of an overseas pensioner. I am a retired Pakistani Ambassador, settled in Canberra. My pension was stopped in April because I didn’t have an individual bank account (I have joint account with my wife). To comply with Finance Division’s instructions, I opened an individual Roshan Digital Account (RDA) online but was told that pension couldn’t be credited to it. As a 76-year-old, and due to restrictions in Australia and Pakistan’s alarming Covid-19 situation, I can’t travel and come to Pakistan to open an account.

I have sent the prime minister a letter through the principal secretary to the prime minister (PSPM). I have also tried the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal but to no avail. After the prime minister’s live call, I sent WhatsApp messages and a registered letter to several sitting ministers, without success. Pension is a fundamental right. It can be stopped only as a major penalty, following serious breach of rules, after due process. It is, therefore, requested that till my visit to Pakistan, my pension (and that of others like me) may kindly be paid though any of the following: i) joint accounts in Pakistan; ii) Roshan Digital Accounts; or iii) Pakistan Diplomatic Missions Abroad.

Khizar Niazi

Canberra, Australia