KARACHI: Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab distributed pension arrears cheques worth Rs310 million among the retired employees of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at a ceremony on Wednesday and announced the introduction of the KMC Pension Card.

Addressing the ceremony, the mayor said that resolving the long-standing issues faced by retired KMC employees, which had remained pending for many years, had been a priority of the present city administration.

He said that due to the flawed policies of previous governments, retired employees had been deprived of their legitimate rights; however, the current leadership had taken practical steps to address these issues.

He also said that when the present administration assumed office three years ago, KMC had pension liabilities amounting to approximately Rs11 billion.

Through “prudent financial planning and effective investment of available resources,” pension arrears of employees who retired between 2013 and 2019 are being cleared in phases, while Rs310 million is being disbursed, he added.

Approximately Rs6.2bn in pension arrears still remains to be paid, and work in this regard is progressing rapidly, he said and further said that KMC now ensures that all retired employees receive their monthly pension on the first day of every month, and there is currently no outstanding liability against regular pension payments.

The mayor said that the credit for this achievement goes to the entire City Council, the deputy mayor, the parliamentary leader, the deputy parliamentary leader, the Peoples Labour Bureau, and all officers and employees who contributed to this effort. He also revealed that a long-standing financial dispute with the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) had been resolved, as a result of which approximately Rs1.4bn would be transferred to KMC’s account during the current month. He said these funds would also be utilised for the welfare of employees and the citizens of Karachi.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2026