LAHORE: A railways pensioner, who had not been given GP fund for the last six months, attempted suicide on Tuesday by jumping from the third storey of PR Headquarters building.

A retired grade-4 employee of the Pakistan Railway, Robin, had been visiting the accounts department to get his GP fund which was not given to him for the last six months.

The pensioner was not getting any response from authorities and he jumped from the third floor of the building. Resultantly, his legs were broken. He was shifted to Services Hospital in a critical condition.

The retired employee went to the railway officers who were allegedly sitting on his file.

The railways are currently facing a financial crunch and many of its retired employees are not receiving pension on time.

However, a PR spokesperson said neither Robin attempted suicide nor had he any altercation with the accounts department official.

He said Robin was not feeling well and he fell down from the building after becoming unconscious.

Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique took notice of the incident and also called the Service Hospital medical superintendent to provide better facilities to the employee.

He also constituted a three-member team to probe the matter and submit a report to him.

According to a report, Pakistan Railways pension bill reached Rs38 billion and the government was not able to clear the entire amount.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022