The government has increased the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) pension from Rs6,500 to Rs8,500, prime minister's aide Firdous Ashiq Awan announced on Thursday.

Taking to Twitter, she said the increase in the pension was a "manifestation of Prime Minister Imran Khan's concern for the poor and downtrodden segments".

"This is a practical step towards the establishment of a welfare state on the model of the state of Madina," the government's chief spokesperson added.

She said the dream for an Islamic welfare state will be realised when the state takes care of its indigent classes "like a mother".

"The prime minister is working towards the completion of this very mission," Awan added.

Last month, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakis­tanis and Human Resource Development Zulfiqar Bu­­kh­ari had vowed to increase the EOBI pension by two-and-a-half times within four years.

“Currently, per month Rs6,500 is being given to pensioners but I am determined to increase the amount to Rs15,000 during the term of the current government so that pensioners would get a little breather,” he had said while speaking to the participants of an EOBI event.

Earlier in January, the federal government had announced a 20 per cent increase in the pension rate for EOBI pensioners while the minimum amount of pension was set at Rs6,500 per month