Sindh government, Social Welfare department has constituted a 16-member council for the welfare of senior citizens under Section 3(1) of the Sindh Senior Citizen Welfare Act, 2014.
According to a notification, Minister for Social Welfare department will be the chairperson of the council. Other members included Dr Sikandar Mandhro MPA, Syed Sardar Ahmed MPA, Samina S Vertejee, Vice President Senior Citizen Caregivers Organization, Mir Hussain Ali former government officer, Shamim Ahmed Firpo, President Karachi Chamber Of Commerce, Muhammad Aslam Shaikh, Additional District & Session Judge, Representative of Sindh Rural Support Organization, Secretaries of Finance, Health, Local Government, Zakat & Usher, Transport, Food and Agriculture departments.
While, Secretary Social Welfare Department will act as member/ secretary of the council. Commenting on the matter, Advisor to Chief Minister for Social Welfare Shamim Mumtaz said that Sindh Assembly has made commendable legislation for the welfare of senior citizens and other social issues and took lead in turning this state into welfare state in real sense; however implementation phase remained weak due to lethargy of concerned quarters.
She said that senior citizens are priceless assets and our young society must benefit from their experiences but unfortunately we have forgotten our cultural values in the craze of modernization.