MANSEHRA, April 26: Retired employees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Forest Development Corporation on Thursday threatened to commit suicide at public places over long delay in payment of pension and other benefits despite the court orders.

They also threatened to move the court for contempt proceedings against FDC.

The threat was issued by a group of FDC pensioners led by Hassan Deen while talking to reporters in Balakot.

Mr Deen said in October last year, the Supreme Court rejected a request of the corporation for permission not to pay pension and benefits its ex-employees or families under Employees Old-Age Benefit Act (EOBA), 1976, but even then, more than 700 FDC pensioners across the province had been denied pension and other benefits since then.

He said FDC was unwilling to entertain their applications for payment of pension and other benefits.

The FDC ex-employee said of late, pensioners apprised the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution of long delays in pension payment but to no avail and thus, leaving them with no option but to move the court for contempt proceedings and commit suicide at public places.

He said FDC, which was created under the NWFP FDC Act, 1977, and later reconstituted through NWFP FDC (Amendment) Ordinance, 1980, was denying its ex-employees or their widows, mostly poor people, to their misery, and therefore, the relevant authorities should step in and resolve the matter.

Also in the day, armed robbers injured a cellular phone company’s salesman on resistance in Mansehra city.

Two motorcyclists tried to snatch cash and cellphone cards from Mohammad Nadeem but fired gunshots at him on resistance injuring him and fled with Rs100,000 cash and 450 cards.

Passersby shifted the injured to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable after doctors removed bullets from his body by a surgical procedure.

Mr Nadeem later registered an FIR against unidentified robbers and began investigation. However, no arrest could be made until night.

Meanwhile, Markazi Anjum-i-Tajran president Haroonur Rasheed has warned that traders will agitate if robbers aren’t arrested.