President directs EOBI to pay female teacher’s pension within 30 days

ISLAMABAD, Apr 29 (DNA): President Arif Alvi has directed the
Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to issue pension to a
retired female teacher within 30 days and report its compliance to th
Wafaqi Mohtasib.

The teacher had been deprived of her pension by the EOBI since February
2019 on the flimsy ground that the beat officer of the complainant had
verified her service period of only three years.

Expressing displeasure over the failure of EOBI to address the
grievances of the complainant, the president regretted that EOBI had
unnecessarily wasted its precious time by submitting representation
against the decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib who had referred the case to
EOBI for resolution within 45 days.

He also directed the secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and
Human Resources Development to take effective measures to enhance the
service delivery of EOBI immediately, President Secretariat Press Wing
said in a press release on Saturday.

As per details, Zohra Bibi (the complainant) had stated that she served
with the Oxford Public School, Hayatabad, Peshawar, w.e.f. 01-07-1996 to
February 2019 (almost 23-years) and that the contribution from her
salary had been deducted and this fact had been admitted by the
Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) that the concerned school
was registered with it.

According to her, after retirement she applied for grant of EOBI’s
pension but to no avail.

Feeling aggrieved, she approached Wafaqi Mohtasib who passed the order
in her favour but the EOBI filed a representation with the president.

  The president rejected EOBI’s representation and observed that the
registration card dated 29-11-2006 of the pension scheme issued by EOBI
was genuine and it was written on the card that the effective date was
07-05-1996; whereas the complainant was eligible for EOBI pension with
effect from 01-07-1996.

He further pointed out that the contribution was deducted throughout
from the monthly salary of the complainant and it was admitted by the
EOBI that the concerned school was also registered with it.

He said that EOBI had failed to computerize the complete record of that
school and also failed to recover its share, if any, from the school,
and resultantly the low paid female complainant was kept deprived of her
due pension since February 2019.

In his decision, the president said the pension was not a bounty rather
an employee earned it by dint of long, continuous and faithful service
and this constituted a fundamental right to livelihood under Article 9
of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, adding
that this hard-earned right could not be denied to a pensioner except in
accordance with law.

He noted with grave concern that EOBI failed to redress the grievance of
the complainant even after clear direction of the Wafaqi Mohtasib to the
agency to dispose of the case within 45-days. DNA

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