BAHAWALPUR: Over 19,000 pensioners have so far been provided the facility to draw pensions from their own bank accounts that have been made online across the district.

This was stated by District Accounts Officer Farhan Ahmad Hamdani here on Saturday.

Talking to Dawn, Hamdani said that as per the government`s instructions, the task to make pensioners` accounts online was initiated last year.With the coordination and cooperationofStateBank ofPakistan National Bank of Pakistan as well as his staff members, almost 19,000 pensioners had been provided the facility within a year through which they could draw pensions directly from their own bank accounts.

He added that this facility had relieved pensioners, some of whom were sick and weak, of unnecessary troubles and long hours of waiting to collect their pensions every month. There were only a few hundred pen-sioners left now whose accounts had to be converted online, which would be completed soon.

The DAO also disclosed that within a year, Rs8.1 million had been gradually deducted in easy monthly installments from pensions of those pensioners, who had been paid extra (by the bank staff) inadvertently in the previous years when the government increased pensions annually following budget announcements.

Elaborating, he claimed that due to lack of required technologyinrespective bank branches,officials concerned could not calculate monthly pensions accurately following government announcements.

Hamdani said that departmental functioning of the district accounts office had been streamlined to provide maximum facilities to needy government employees visiting the office for their routine and financial matters.

ARREST: Yazman police claimed to have arrested a suspect for his involvement in the target killing of Imran Shakir on Friday in Yazman, about30km from here.

According to police, the suspect, Qasim Kaloo, has identifie d his accomplice Hussain Sahi, who could not be arrested so far.

Meanwhile, Ahmedpur East police claimed to have arrested Muhammad Aamir and Ghulam Farid alias Shada of the five nominated in the first information report by lawyer Parveen Malik, who had been shot at and injured four days ago.

In her complaint, she had nominated seven suspects out of which five were nominated and two unidentified.