LAHORE:Hundredsof retiredemployeesof thePakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) have not yet been paid their pension for the last month.

These employees claim that they have not been paid their pension for the month of October though November is also coming to an end as the Science and Technology Ministry is not releasing funds for the purpose.

Dr Shahid Tufail, a pensioner from PCSIR, says a paltry sum of Rs18 million is needed to pay around 250 Lahorebased former employees all of whom are 65 to 70 years of age.

He says the PCSIR authorities are ready to pay the pension using the funds the council generates through various research projects it secures from the private sector, but the ministry has barred it from utilising the amount for pension payments. The science and technology secretary is not attending calls being made by the affected pensions, he adds, requesting Science and Technology Minister Azam Khan Swati to come to the rescue of the elderly people who had given their lives for the promotion of research in the country. Staff Reporter