ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Railways Pensioners’ Association has rejected the proposal to tax the pensions of retired government employees and said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, government plans to bring pensioners into tax net.

In a meeting the members of the association observed that the proposal has been floated by bureaucrats to please the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and warned that if this decision was enforced, the government will be responsible for the reactions of the general public.

The meeting held under the chairperson of the association Mohammad Aslam Butt, also observed that the bureaucrats and technical experts negotiating with the IMF were making pensioners scapegoats of their own incompetence and financial mismanagement.

Mr Butt added that the association demands of the government to curtail wasteful expenditures to increase income instead of creating hardships for the retired persons.

“The government should ban unauthorised foreign visits, free fuel and vehicle facilities for senior government officials,” he added.

He said that all wasteful expenditures should be done away with immediately and more money has to be spent on the welfare of people.

The association’s general secretary, Aurangzeb Tanoli and other officials announced that the retired government employees should not be at the mercy of ministers and advisers, to afford daily needs.

The only source of income for the retired person was pension and if the government imposed taxes on pensions only to please the IMF, their lives would be pushed further into financial difficulties.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024