Retired IIOJK policemen protest over discriminatory pay & pension policies
Jammu: Retired police personnel in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir staged a protest at Hari Singh Park, Jammu, to highlight discrimination in pay and pension benefits for Kashmiri retirees.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protest was organized by the Non-Gazetted Pensioners Welfare Forum, led by Ajit Singh, and raised multiple grievances including pay discrepancies, lack of medical benefits, and insufficient support for families of retired police personnel.
One core issue cited was the 2014 Government Order 229-F, intended to address pay anomalies stemming from the 1996 implementation of the 5th pay commission. However, the order has only been applied prospectively, excluding numerous retirees from these adjustments, including several who have since passed away. The Forum urged the government to apply these benefits retroactively to ensure fairness for all eligible pensioners.
Protesters also demanded equal medical benefits for Kashmiri retired police personnel, aligning them with those available to Indian state employees, as many retirees face medical challenges without adequate support. Additionally, the Forum called for a reduction of the pension recovery period from 15 to 12 years, in line with policies in Indian states like Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana, to alleviate the financial strain on pensioners.
The Forum expressed concern over delayed salary payments for Special Police Officers (SPOs), who reportedly face financial hardship due to salary disbursement issues, and emphasized the need for prompt payment processes to ease their economic burden.
Observers slam New Delhi’s policies, stating that despite India’s claims of Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory, the ongoing discrimination in benefits and privileges for Kashmiri employees reveals a stark double standard, raising questions about Modi regime’s commitment to treating the region’s residents equitably.
