BAJAUR: Scores of pensioners on Tuesday complained against the management of a private bank for delaying the payment of pension despite the government had released the amount on March 20.

Talking to reporters outside the bank branch in Khar Bazaar, dozens of retired employees belonging to different areas alleged that the management of the bank in Khar had yet to make payments to them owing to unknown reasons.

“We are in the bank since early morning to get pensions, but unfortunately we are yet to be paid,” Aziz Khan, a resident of the far-flung Baroo area of Salarzai tehsil, said.

The pensioners said that delay in getting their payments was causing great trouble to them. “I planned to buy some essential edible items for home, but could not do so due to delay in getting the pension,” Haidar Khan, 65, a resident of Utmankhel tehsil, said.

The retired employees claimed that it was not the first time that they were unable to get pension on time, saying management of the same bank had delayed the payments last month.

The pensioners demanded of the high ups of the bank to ensure they were paid their pensions without delay. They also urged the district administration to take notice of the delay in payment of their pensions.

Meanwhile, an official at the bank branch confirmed to Dawn the delay in payment of pensions.

The official, who wished to be unnamed, however, said that a technical fault in their system caused the delay in disbursement of pensions, which he promised to resolve soon.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2025