LAHORE, Oct 3: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday rejected a resolution moved by the opposition to increase family pension for widows of government employees from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the amount their husbands were getting during service.

Faiza Ahmed presented the resolution in the house on the `private members day’.Perveen Masood Bhatti, Arshad Mahmood Baggu and others from the opposition supported the resolution.

Punjab Fiance Minister Husnain Bahadur Dareshak who opposed the resolution said the provincial government had to follow pension rules of the federal government and it could not take any decision contrary to those rules and regulations.

He said financial resources of the provincial government also did not allow such an increase. The minister said the government was already providing facilities of five-year stay in government accommodation to the families of the deceased employees, besides providing jobs in BPS 1-5 to a son of each deceased employee along with pension and other benefits under the laid-down criteria.

He said the proposal to increase the pension was not feasible at this stage and liable to be rejected by the house.—APP