Taliban govt to pay withheld pensions to 150,000

After a four-year suspension, the Taliban government has announced it would resume pension payments for Afghanistan's nearly 150,000 retired military and civil servants.

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Kabul - After a four-year suspension, the Taliban government has announced it would resume pension payments for Afghanistan's nearly 150,000 retired military and civil servants.

They will be the last public sector workers to receive any payments, after the cash-strapped authorities announced an end to the public pension scheme last year.

"When you're jobless and have nothing, you're worried about food," said 71-year-old Abdul Sabir outside the pension department in the capital Kabul.

He was among those scheduled to receive his pension again in a gradual roll-out across government institutions.