Waqf Board retirees demand release of pension amount

Srinagar: Claiming that the J&K Waqf Board has been withholding their pension for the last two years, the retired employees of the Board on Tuesday demanded that their pension be released forthwith, lest their family members die of starvation.
Addressing a news conference here, the former Waqf Board employees said while Dr. Darakhshan Andrabi, the incumbent Chairman, had announced the release of pensions in January this year, the same has not been paid yet.
“The pension of Waqf Board retirees has been on hold for the past two years. Our families are made to suffer, and we were never given an explanation for this. Some of our coworkers have even passed away as they were not able to afford medical treatment,” Molvi Akhzar Ahmad, a retired Waqf Board employee said.
He accused Dr. Darakhshan Andrabi of disregarding the miserable conditions of the retired employees while boasting about her “excellent oversight” of mosques and shrines in the Union Territory.
Following Dr. Andrabi’s appointment to the position two years ago, 12 of the Waqf Board employees, he said, have retired. But their pension has not been paid so far, leaving their families in desperate circumstances.
“After serving the Waqf Board for 29 years, I retired in December last year. For thirty-five years, a few of my coworkers honestly performed their duties. However, their current situation discloses much about the carelessness on the part of those at the helm,” he added.
It is alleged that when Molvi Akhzar questioned Dr. Darakhshan Andrabi on why she had put their pension on hold, she allegedly removed him from the official WhatsApp group.
The retired Waqf Board employees appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Secretary to release their pension lest their families die of starvation.