MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government is contemplating increasing pensions of former presidents by 150pc “to make it commensurate with their status”.

Under the AJK President’s Pension Act, 1995, which was amended the last time in 2003, former presidents are entitled to a monthly pension of Rs30,000 and some other privileges, including Rs5,000 per month for telephone bills, services for life for a driver-cum-gunman from the police department, a stenographer and an orderly from the Services and General Administration Department.

Official sources said that since a former MLA was drawing more pension than a former president, the government had decided in principle to enhance the latter’s pension.

In 2003 the Sardar Sikandar Hayat-led Muslim Conference government had enacted a bill on the welfare fund of Legislative Assembly members, whereby, initially, those elected once were entitled to Rs7,000 and those elected twice or more to Rs 10,00 in pension per month, in a move that had no precedence elsewhere in the country.

In 2006, the Welfare Fund Act was amended and renamed the Pension Fund Act whereby the pension was increased to Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, respectively, for the two categories of lawmakers.

However, in a giant leap in 2014, the Pension Act was merged into the AJK Legislative Assembly (salary, allowances, privileges and pension of members) Act, enhancing, among other things, the monthly pension to Rs 50,000.

The lawmakers’ pension was also declared liable to increase every year on par with retired civil servants.

However, the pension for a former president was fixed at Rs 30,000.

Sources said that on Aug 29, the AJK president’s office moved a proposal to the law department for upward revision in the president’s pension, maintaining that Rs 30,000 per month pension, fixed in 2003, was “neither commensurate with the status of the former presidents nor adequate for a decent living by any yardstick.”

The proposal got the concurrence of the finance department on Sept 19, with Rs 75,000 as the new monthly pension of a former president, instead of Rs 30,000.

Sources told Dawn that the law department had prepared the draft of the amendments to this effect for approval of the cabinet.

According to accountant general’s office, former president Sardar Sikandar Hayat, retired Maj Gen Sardar Anwar Khan, Raja Zulqarnain Khan and Haji Yaqoob are drawing pensions under the President’s Pension Act.

Interestingly, two of them – Mr Hayat and Mr Yaqoob – have also been former MLAs and former prime ministers.

In that capacity, sources said, though they are not drawing pension of ex-MLAs, they are however availing themselves of certain privileges for former premiers, including a 1,600cc chauffeur driven car with 400 litres of fuel per month as well as Rs 55,000 per month as house rent and a personal assistant.

Sources said that three of these former presidents had drawn excess amounts in pension to the tune of several million rupees over the years reportedly out of ‘ignorance’ but immediately it was not clear as yet as to what mechanism the government had devised to reclaim or adjust that amount.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2018