PESHAWAR: The participants of a workshop here on Thursday asked the government to take all stakeholders onboard to enforce Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Citizens Welfare Act, 2014 in letter and spirit.

The workshop on ‘promotion of the rights of senior citizens’ was held under the auspices of Help Age International that was attended by representatives of media, civil society organisations and social welfare department.

Saeeda Nudrat, a representative of the social welfare department, briefed the participants on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Citizens Welfare Act, 2014.

She said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the first province of the country that legislated for the welfare of the senior citizens, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. The aim of the legislation, she said, was to work for the welfare, dignity and comfort of the senior citizens.

Ms Nudrat said that implementation of law was in progress as the department set up Senior Citizens Council, which held its maiden meeting in September 2016.

She said that the department had also written a letter to the health department for establishment of separate counters for senior citizens in public sector hospitals. She said that senior citizen card had also been designed and sent to chief minister for approval.

The official said that senior citizens stipend was introduced in six districts of the province. She said that 633 senior citizens were paid a stipend of Rs6,000 per annum. She said that the amount of the stipend was increased and from next year they would receive a stipend of Rs12,000 annually.

Earlier, Waqas Shah of the Help Age International said that each ninth person in the country was a senior citizen. He said that by 2050, every fifth person in the country would be a senior citizen.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2017