CHITRAL: The drivers sacked from service by Aga Khan Planning and Building Service (AKPBS) have demanded of Prince Karim Aga Khan to take cognisance of the injustice meted out to them.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Ishaq Nabi Shah, Dinar Hussain and Nizar Ali said they were terminated only on a two-day notice in August by regional programme manager Mohammad Karam as they had reached the age of 60 years despite the fact that they had served with the organisation for 25 years.

They said they were given not a single penny apart from the last month’s salary as gratuity. They said in 1994, their appointment letters carried the mention of pension benefits to which they would be entitled on attaining the age of 60 years and deductions were made from their salaries as provident fund, but now they were told that their service was converted to contractual nature in 2012 without intimating them.

They said in the other organisations being run under the Aga Khan Development Network, the drivers and other low-grade employees were given handsome amount of money as gratuity.

Now we are too old to get a job and have no money to start a small business to earn a living. We were getting a paltry salary of Rs28,000 per month when we got sacked, they said.

They also demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of their plight.

Despite repeated calls, the regional programme manager of AKPBS could not be contacted to know his version on the matter.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2019