In our part of the world, people are considered ‘senior’ after reaching the age of 60. When I was that age, I was fortunate to be in good health and I continued to remain active as I considered myself still far from joining the ‘seniors club’. Now having touched 80, I was expecting and keenly looking forward to seeing some benefits. I am absolutely disappointed to see nothing coming in the way of support.

To start with, going to National Savings centres, one has to take a token and be seated (if a seat is available) and wait for hours for one’s call. During a visit to my bank, I saw four counters — one for cheques/pay-orders, one for senior citizens, and two for the general public. Only two counters were functional. When I enquired why the counter meant for senior citizens was closed, the reply by the official was funny: “We do not have many senior citizens accounts here.”

Coming back from an overseas trip, I landed at the airport in Karachi early in the morning. There was too much rush. When I asked one official there, he told me that there were four flights, and only two counters for early-morning flights. When I requested him to help me as a senior citizen, his reply was hilarious: “All passengers are senior for us.” He probably took seniors as ‘elite’ and not seniors in terms of age.

Seniors go through multiple health issues, including cataract, diabetes, etc. The fee of consultants and various laboratory tests are too high, and visits consume hours. Once I had to run from one section of the healthcare facility to the other to get the required treatment.

In contrast, my experience as a senior citizen outside Pakistan has been simply wonderful. On a visit to London, I remember, my wife and I got worried at Heathrow, watching a huge rush at immigration counters. All of a sudden, a young female immigration official came to us, took our passports and asked us to follow her. I was taken aback as to what happened and wondered where she was taking us. She took us to the counter and got our passports stamped immediately. When I thanked her, she said it was her duty to ensure the seniors were taken good care of.

We have been hearing for decades that the government is planning to introduce reforms to facilitate senior citizens. I hope the current government will take due steps to grant senior citizens some concessions in taxes. I have paid taxes for over four decades while performing my professional duties, and now, I believe, it is time to get some benefits in return.

Akber D. Vazir

Karachi