Retirees protest: four years without salaries

KABUL (TOLONews): A group of retirees once again gathered in front of the Pension Fund to protest the non-payment of their salaries.

They are demanding the payment of their pensions by the Islamic Emirate.

Gol Mullah Bakhtiar, one of the retirees, said: “These brothers who have gathered here have not come just once, twice, three times, or ten times — they have come hundreds of times. For four years, each of them has borrowed money from their wives, children, and shopkeepers, paid transportation costs, and spent five or six thousand Afghanis each time, only to achieve nothing.”

Another retiree, Mirowais, said: “Our request to the Amir al-Mu’minin is to ensure the enforcement of the decree he issued regarding retirees so that the rights of these oppressed and impoverished people are fulfilled.”

Abdul Jaleel, a middle-aged retiree who spent part of his life working in government institutions, is now seeking to receive his pension.

Abdul Jaleel said: “We are only asking for the payment of our pensions. We urge the Director General of Retirees to take the necessary measures to pay our pensions for the past four years and now into the fifth year, through any possible means.”

Despite nearly four years of gathering in front of various institutions — especially the Ministry of Finance, the courts, UNAMA, and the Pension Fund — the caretaker government has yet to announce a specific timeline for the payment of retirees’ salaries.