Several retirees are complaining about the Taliban’s failure to pay their pension benefits. They say nearly five years have passed without them receiving their pensions, and that they are living in difficult economic conditions. These retirees regard their pensions as a legal right earned through years of service and are demanding payment. Meanwhile, several economic experts warn that each retiree is, on average, the breadwinner for a large family of seven to ten members, and that the continuation of this situation could deepen poverty and trigger a humanitarian catastrophe among the society’s vulnerable groups.
Gul Ahmad (pseudonym), one of the retirees who served in government for about 30 years, says that since the Taliban takeover, he has not received his pension and is enduring dire economic conditions.
This retiree says: “I retired years ago, and before the Taliban took power,r I received my pension regularly and used it to cover my family’s expenses. But from the day this group arrived, we have not received any money. We have gone to the relevant offices many times, but we are only told to wait. Now nearly five years have passed during which we have been living in harsh economic conditions, and I do not know when this waiting will come to an end.”
Junaidullah (pseudonym), another retiree, criticizes the Taliban’s failure to pay his pension and says it is their legal right. He said,s: “This is our right. During our years of service, a portion of our salary was deducted for retirement, and now it must be paid. A pension is the support we need today. There is no work for us, and our children have no job opportunities either.”
Zainab (pseudonym), a teacher who served 32 years in the education sector, says that under the previous government, she received her pension regularly. Still, for nearly five years, it has gone unpaid, and she and her family are grappling with severe economic hardship.
This retired teacher says, “Our plea is that they pay our pensions so we can cover our living costs. Most of the time, our family eats only one meal a day, and it is rare for us to manage two. We have no steady breadwinner in the family. Despite his old age, my husband pulls a handcart to make ends meet, and I sometimes do cleaning work in people’s homes, but because of my age,e many families will not give me work. I have seven children, and meeting their needs has become very difficult for us.”
Obaid (pseudonym), another retiree, says: “At home we have nine mouths to feed. All of them are underage. We have no one who earns a daily wage.”
Meanwhile, Mir Shekab Mir, the former head of financial services development at the Central Bank, says the Taliban have the financial capacity to pay retirees’ pensions, but lack the will and the willingness to do so.
Mir says, “Given that the Taliban constantly speak of increasing domestic revenue, including taxes, tariffs, and customs income, paying retirees’ pensions is not a problem for them. What matters most is this group’s lack of willingness to pay pensions, because they do not consider themselves responsible or obligated to meet this commitment.” He adds: “The continuation of this situation has deepened poverty among retirees and their families. In addition to economic problems, it carries broad social and psychological consequences for retirees and could fuel growing public discontent and intensify people’s distrust and resentment toward the Taliban.”
Shekab (pseudonym), an economic affairs expert, says retirees got by for a lifetime on meager government salaries, in the hope that their pensions would cover their basic living costs in old age. In his view, delaying or failing to pay these benefits means cutting off their last hope and dealing a heavy blow to the economy of their families.
This economic analyst adds: “A pension not only preserves the dignity and pride of the elderly, but also keeps them from feelings of idleness and isolation, providing a measure of psychological peace for themselves and the family members who depend on them. Today, in the faces of many retirees, one can see the signs of life’s hardships, economic pressure, and the despair caused by the delay in paying pensions.” According to him, each retiree is, on average, the breadwinner of a large family of seven to ten members, and the continuation of this situation could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe among the society’s vulnerable groups.
This economic expert warns: “If this trend continues, families’ medical costs will go unmet and silent deaths in society will rise. The education sector will suffer as well, as more children turn to labor and many families lose the financial ability to send their children to school. Food security for families will also be jeopardized, and malnutrition will spread.” He stresses: “A country’s economy is like an interconnected chain, and its stability depends on the condition of all segments of society. Until the wheel of retirees’ livelihoods begins to turn, the wounds of poverty and stagnation will remain on the body of Afghanistan’s economy.”
This comes as the Taliban’s Ministry of Finance announced nearly nine months ago that it had begun the process of paying pensions to retirees of a number of ministries, yet a number of retirees are still waiting to receive their benefits.
Over the past five years, retirees have repeatedly held demonstrations to demand payment of their benefits.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
