THIS is with reference to the report `Govt ends double-dipping for rehired retired employees` (April 28), according to which the federal government has decided that public servants rejoining government service in any capacity would now have to choose between a salary and a pension. This is surely a step in the right direction. But why should this be applicable only to those hired after July 2024? Why not across the board? For a country, where almost half the population is either living below the poverty line, or barely surviving without any meaningful subsidies offered by the state to the most deprived, the decision falls way short of what it should have been. Pakistan was meant to be a welfare state for all its citizens, not just the select few. The growing disconnect on the streets poses a threat to national security.

Pakistan is facing a financial crunch, and surviving on bailout packages. It is unimaginable that the government is burdened with an annual pension budget of almost Rs1.04 trillion, which includes Rs228 billion for civilians. This gross pension liability far exceeds the annual budget allocation for human resource development, such as in the domains of health and education,for the rest ofthe population. Rehiring retired military and civil officers, including those from the judiciary, deprives qualified youth of opportunities.

The current Rs1.04 trillion pension amount does not include the cradle-tograve perks of the paid elite, or the endless multiple allotments of state lands and property tax reliefs, which are nothing but a legacy of the colonial period.

The current policy of offering fabulous packages post-retirement from stateowned organisations, including semiautonomous corporations, is a burden onthe country and its people. These glaring disparities must come to a definite end immediately, and the funds thus saved should be diverted to the most deprived sections of society by investing in education, health and development to facilitate the life of the common man.

Malik Tariq Ali Lahore