IT took almost a decade of campaigning by journalists, activists and social workers for the Senior Citizens Welf are Act, 2014, to finally be signed into law in June 2016.

Although clearly stated that the act wouldbe ef fective immediately, more than a year later little has been done to ensure this.

Its implementation requires the establishment of a 15-member main council in Karachi comprising seven secretaries of line departments, two MPAs, two NGO representatives, two civil society representatives and one retired sessions judge, with the minister of the Social Welf are Department acting as its chairperson.

Forming the main council doesn`t even require much material inf rastructure. The secretaries and ministers can perform their duties as council members from within their own of fices, and other members can easily be accommodated for meetings in these of fices. Once this is done, district-level councils can be established using the same model to conduct the councils` work through the deputy commissioners` of fices. Doing so would help streamline the formation and functionality of these facilities.

Finally, as instructed by the law, these councils must issue senior citizen cards (azadi cards), for which Nadra should be brought on board. There have been enough delays; senior citizens must be allowed to avail themselves of the facilities and concessions provided to them under the act.

Lala Fazal Ahmed Belaee Hyderabad