ISLAMABAD – Another picture of Pakistan’s grim pension system emerged, with dozens of retired government officials living abroad continuing to get their pensions in US dollars and other foreign currencies at the expense of the national exchequer.
Journalist Zahid Gishkori revealed data from government institutions, including Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which shows that around 35 retired government employees or their families are receiving pensions in foreign currencies while residing abroad.
The data covers period from 2021 to 2026 and shows that millions of rupees have been paid through Pakistani diplomatic missions to pensioners living in countries including the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Italy and Sweden.
The figures reveal that 11 pensioners based in Washington received around Rs136.4 million over the past five years, while 10 pensioners in New York received approximately Rs101.5 million during the same period.
Pension payments were also made to retirees residing in Houston, Vienna, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Canberra, Vancouver, Rome and Stockholm. Among them, four pensioners in Ottawa alone received around Rs14.3 million, while a pensioner in Canberra received approximately Rs9.3 million.
The available data shows individual payments running into millions of rupees. A retired officer in Houston received around Rs2.3 million, while pensioners in Vienna, Toronto and London received more than Rs2.2 million, Rs2.4 million and around Rs2.1 million respectively.
The system works through Pakistan’s missions abroad, pensions calculated in foreign currency are converted into Pakistani rupee values, after which the relevant diplomatic mission makes monthly payments to the retired employee or eligible family members.
Who are Dollar pensioners?
The list includes senior officials and diplomats from several government departments.
Wali Ullah Khan, a Grade-22 ambassador, is among those receiving a pension in dollars. Other names include former Foreign Service officials, senior officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Election Commission, Information and Broadcasting Division, Establishment Division, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Finance Division and public works departments.
The available records include former Grade-20 and Grade-21 officials, ambassadors, directors general, additional secretaries, superintendents, engineers, medical officers and other government employees.
These people are serving in Washington, New York Ottawa and Toronto in Canada, London in the UK, Canberra in Australia, Vienna in Austria, Rome in Italy and Stockholm in Sweden. Some pension payments are reportedly being made directly to families of retired officials, including families of deceased pensioners.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the data is that some of the individuals concerned retired decades ago. Records show that some retired officials left government service around 20, 25, 30 or even 35 years ago, yet their pensions continue to be paid through Pakistani missions abroad. The data covering 2021 to 2026 indicates that these payments are still being made either to the pensioners themselves or to eligible family members.
The issue becomes more significant when placed against Pakistan’s overall pension burden. Pakistan has around 1.8 million retired government employees receiving pensions. If other pension schemes and old-age benefit recipients are included, the overall number of pensioners rises to around 4.8 million.
The government spends approximately Rs1,100 billion annually on pensions for retired government employees. A substantial portion of the pension burden comes from retired armed forces personnel. The available figures indicate around 1.4 million retired personnel in the broader category, including approximately 800,000 retired armed forces personnel.
Against this enormous pension bill, the foreign-currency pensioners show only tiny fraction, but their payments raise questions about the rules governing pensions of officials who retire abroad or settle outside Pakistan. The figures opened a new line of inquiry, whether other retired officials, particularly former armed forces personnel who served in foreign postings, are also receiving pensions in dollars or other foreign currencies.
Further investigation is needed to determine precise legal basis for these payments, the dates of retirement, the current status of each pensioner, the currencies involved, and the total amount paid over the entire period of entitlement. The emerging details, however, raise a compelling question: why are retired Pakistani government officials living abroad still being paid pensions in foreign currencies from the country’s national exchequer, in some cases decades after their retirement?
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