Scores of former government employees and pensioners in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir recently staged a sit-in protest, demanding an increase in their pensions from the Pakistan government. The demonstrators expressed that managing household expenses has become increasingly difficult due to soaring inflation, yet Islamabad has shown little concern for their struggles. Despite numerous protests over the past year, no official has addressed their grievances.
One protester, Raja Muhammad Mumtaz, stated, “It is a fact that the Prime Minister of PoJK cannot make any announcements on his own. This has to be done by the government of Pakistan and for this the budget is fixed. I would urge the pensioners’ association members to approach the ministers and demand the release of the pension funds.”
The protesters also called for the implementation of a law ensuring that in the event of a pensioner’s death, their pension should be transferred to their widow or daughter, if she is a widow. They criticized bureaucratic delays for hindering the resolution of their demands.
Another protester lamented, “When we ask the officials to address our concerns, they turn their faces away, that nobody should come to them and that they won’t say anything. This is our condition that we are forced to sit on roads. We are old. People passing by are watching us. But our rulers are not concerned to even hear us out. If our concerns are not fair, they should be resolved. If not, then we should be told what is fair.”
The protesters accused the government of using resources from the region under its control to compensate for Pakistan’s economic losses due to policy failures, instead of providing aid to the people in the backward region.