Ombudsman Took Notice Of Widow’s Late Pension

News Desk

Islamabad: The late Muhammad Latif’s wife, who had previously worked for the National Trust for the Disabled (NTD) as a driver, filed a complaint against the Ministry of Human Rights for excessively delaying the payment of her entitlements under the Prime Minister’s Assistance Package.

She said that because her spouse passed away during service in 2014, she was entitled to full pay and allowances until her husband reached retirement age.

Although her monthly salary started w.e.f. April 20, 2021, arrears of salary and the PM Assistance Package were not disbursed to her. Her repeated visits, spread over many years, to NTD and the Ministry of Human Rights failed to get the lawful entitlements released to her. Hence, she filed the complaint before the Federal Ombudsman.

The Ministry of Human Rights and the NTD (later merged with the Directorate General of Special Education) responded that the widow’s dues, including the senior scale promotion incentives, had not been paid because of a lack of finances. The Special Education Directorate representative revealed that an amount of Rs. 3.2 million is outstanding against the agency during the proceedings at Wafaqi Mohtasib’s office.

The representatives of Special Education and the Ministry of Human Rights made written commitments that her case was being sent to the Finance Division for the provision of funds. After taking the facts of the case into consideration, the Federal Ombudsman directed the Director General, Special Education, and the Ministry of Human Rights to make payment to the complainant within 45 days.

The widow received reimbursement for all outstanding debts as a result of WafaqiMohtasib Secretariat (WMS) Implementation Wing Deputy Advisor Pervez Haleem relentlessly pursuing the implementation of Mohtasib’s decision. The complainant acknowledged receipt of her obligations and also expressed gratitude for WafaqiMohtasib’s kind intervention, which resulted in the payment of her late husband’s pensionary dues after ten years.