EOBI displayed “grave insensitivity” towards disabled person
President Asif Ali Zardari has directed that a pension be provided to a congenitally blind person. He said that Mohammad Shahzad should be ensured the payment of his late father’s pension from the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI).
The EOBI had previously rejected the request for a pension for the congenitally blind person. The family members of the disabled citizen were receiving the pension after the passing away of the pension holder.
Asif Ali Zardari stated that the complainant cannot be left in a “ruthless condition” by the state. He said it was unfortunate that the EOBI had displayed “grave insensitivity” towards the disabled person, and directed the EOBI to pay the pension to the blind citizen from its current funds.
Mohammad Shahzad, the complainant, had filed a complaint with the Federal Ombudsman. Mohammad Afzal Zafar, an EOBI old-age pensioner, had passed away in 2016. The complainant’s mother had already passed away during his father’s lifetime, and Mohammad Shahzad had applied to the EOBI as the “disabled legal heir” of his father for the pension, which the EOBI had rejected on the grounds that the applicant was a congenitally blind person.
The EOBI’s position was that only male family members under the age of 18 were eligible for family pension, and Mohammad Shahzad was 44 years old. After the Federal Ombudsman’s investigation was concluded, the citizen had appealed to the President of Pakistan.
The President accepted the complainant’s appeal and directed the institution to make the pension payments. According to the spirit of the Constitution, a disabled person cannot be deprived of such a pension. The President said that the blind citizen deserves better treatment than any other pension recipient. He directed that the EOBI’s laws be reviewed and aligned with the federal policy.
