Report: Masood Anwar
Another irony has been revealed within the National carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the retired employees who dedicated their careers to the airline are receiving a worthless pension of just Rs.2,000 per month, a sum that has remained unchanged since 2009. Even more painful is that widows of deceased employees are given only Rs.1,000 per month.
Conversely, the federal government has increased the salaries of lawmakers by hundreds of thousands of rupees. Despite years of dedicated service, these retirees are left to struggle with an insulting pension that is far below the financial aid provided under the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). Under BISP, Rs.3,000 per month is granted to underprivileged individuals, with no work required in return.
This was revealed in the final report of the pension committee, which was constituted under the direction of the Aviation Division on September 20, 2022, and headed by Syed Asif Ali Geelani, Director of Flight Operations PIA.
The committee has submitted its final report on November 24, 2022 but despite the passage of 15 months, the government has yet to act on its recommendations.
The Pension Committee’s report revealed that since January 2009, the minimum pension for retired PIA employees has been Rs.2,000 per month, with widows receiving just Rs.1,000. In its recommendations, the committee urged the government to bring PIA employees’ pensions in line with those of other federal employees. The report calls for an immediate increase in the minimum pension to Rs.10,000 per month for retirees and Rs.7,500 per month for widows. Additionally, the committee suggested that pensions for retirees aged 75 and above should be raised to Rs.15,000 per month, with widows receiving Rs.11,250.
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The plight of pensioners in PIA can be gauged from the fact that the current chairman of the board of directors of PIACL, Aslam R Khan, has a pension of just Rs.6500. Aslam R Khan has been appointed in important positions of PIA. He has also been the Managing Director of PIA and PIA Investments Limited. As the head of PIA Investment Limited, Aslam R Khan is also credited with making PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel in New York profitable.
Additionally, in the meeting held on August 10, 2023, the pension committee had urged the government to run the pension fund under the trust deed of the board of trustees for transparency in pension matters and hold regular meetings of the board of trust.
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Surprisingly, the meeting of the Board of Trust, which includes senior officials of the PIA administration, has not been convened for the last 15 years.
