THIS is with reference to letters ‘A troubling gap’ (June 23) and ‘Non-integration is avoidable barrier’ (July 26) concerning the proof-of-life difficulties faced by overseas pensioners of the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) due to institutional non-integration. The question is no longer whether Pakistan possesses the technology. It does. The question is: why has the available digital capability still not been translated into an effective verification mechanism for EOBI pensioners?

The digital identity infrastructure of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has demonstrated proven remote verification capacity. But overseas EOBI pensioners still face the prospect of either physical presence or other burdensome procedures merely to establish that the pensioner is alive and remains entitled to the benefit. This is what a secure digital system can establish remotely.

For overseas pensioners, this is not a minor inconvenience. International travel for verification involves obvious financial and physical hassles. Also, suspension of a subsistence pension has rather serious consequences.

One fails to understand what specific legal, regulatory, administrative or technical barrier is preventing the EOBI management from adopting or integrating an appropriate remote digital proof-of-life mechanism. The relevant authorities should at least explain in precise terms the cause of reluctance in this regard.

The real test of digital transformation is not whether technology exists in government institutions; it is whether that technology reaches the citizens who need it.

Ms Ghulam Fatima
Ontario, Canada

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2026