ISLAMABAD: Conversion of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branch into Islamic banking has deprived around 2,000 serving and retired employees of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) from salaries and pension.

Manager NBP Pims Branch Rana Hamid said salaried accounts would be restored but Islamic banking does not have the provision to have direct investment through Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) so pensioners` accounts have been shifted to G-9 branch.

Pensioners have been informed by G-9 branch that their accounts could not be transferred so December`s pension could not be released to around 500 pensioners despite pas-sage of an entire week of January.

Pims Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikander said he was trying to address the issue although the hospital could not do much into the issue.

A 62-year-old pensioner Mohammad Haneef, while talking to Dawn, said he retired as a laboratory technician from Pims and was getting pension for the last two years.

`I worked in the hospital for almost four decades. We [employee] opened 4,000 accounts in the branch which played a role in making it successful.

We were told that as branch is being converted into Islamic banking, we have to submit letters that we want to adopt Islamic banking.

Most of the pensioners including me submitted application provided by the bank manager. This monthour pension has been stopped and we have been advised to contact G-9 branch. On the other hand G-9 branch says our accounts are not shifted there,` he said.

Another pensioner, Tanveer Noshahi, said that he also submitted the form allowing Islamic banking but could not get the pension.

`Now we are being told to open new accounts, if we want to continue with the Pims branch, and approach the AGPR to change the pension accounts. Everyone knows that it will be a herculean task to change the number of pension account in AGPR.

We are retired and cannot run from pillar to post to change account. We have ATM cards but our pension could not be transferred even online,`he said,urging Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the issue.