Afghanistan crisis: Ex-govt employees, military veterans call on Taliban to pay pensions

As Afghanistan is witnessing a severe financial crisis, retired government employees and military veterans have complained that the Taliban are yet to pay their pensions. According to Tolo News, the retired employees and military veterans of the former Afghanistan government led by Ashraf Ghani, who rely on their retirement pensions, said that they are struggling with economic difficulties. Abdul Hameed, a military veteran, said that he provided service to the nation for a long period but is still living a poor life amid the cold winter. 

"I haven't received any pension yet. No one paid me my retirement pension. I was promoted to major, but they did not consider it in my retirement pension," Tolo News quoted Hameed as saying.

"Every retired individual is the breadwinner of their families and is responsible for their families. We are old, we can't labour or go work as vendors," Mohammad Sabir, a retired man said.  

According to the media outlet, dozens of military veterans and former government employees have not been paid their retirement salaries since the Taliban swept into power in mid-August last year. The ex-employees called on the militant government to take immediate steps to pay the retired individuals. 

Afghanistan's crisis 

It is to mention that this comes amid a time when the humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged country has been drastically deteriorating since the Taliban took control of Kabul last year. A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis. Taliban took over control of the country on 15 August and the former government toppled with foreign nations freezing Afghan assets.

According to AP reports from the territory, families are selling their organs such as kidneys and even their own children, including the girl child, in order to buy food as the economy crumbles due to the pandemic into the third year, and Afghans were left without jobs or a source of income. Houses made of mud and clay lack basic amenities such as electricity, water, and heating systems and the winters have been harsh and extremely cold. However, the Taliban call the realities of Afghanistan “a myth”, stressing that girls were in schools, and business is as usual. 

(Image: AP)