Need for reforms in Pakistan Post
Dr Humayun Huma
Let me start my today’s column from another angle. Mashroom growth of private courier services which can be seen in every corner of the city, is only due to the inefficiency of the Pakistan Post. This department which was established in the British era, instead of improving its services, got the status of a much deteriorated government institution. If you visit any post office, you will observe that the huge ledgers and registers would be lying on the tables and the officials working with heavy heart.
I have always noted long rows of aged people to receive their pensions from the post offices. Old ladies can also be seen in the rows. Sometimes these people are paid and mostly they are asked to come on next day. Utility bills are also received in the post offices which create a lot of problems for customers. Sometimes the paid amount of utility bills is not credited in time and such late transfer is again included in the bills. I have personally faced this problem and once an amount of Rs10,000 which was paid in the post office had gone astray and its rectification took more than six months.
Well, different courier services working in the country are also not upto the mark. Let me quote two examples based on my personal experience. Whenever I sent a letter to my relatives in Lahore, it was delivered on next day but the parcel they sent to me, often delivered after two or three days of the dispatch. Once I sent a packet containing some sweets for my grand kids that was not delivered in time, I went to the concerned courier service office and I was informed that the van carrying the mail was taken in custody near Hassan Abdal for suspicion of drugs in one of its packets. Thanks God, one of my pupils among the officials checking the mail noted my name on one of the packets. He handed over that to the next van and said that he was sure it would contain nothing doubtful as the sender was his beloved teacher. Here, I would say why the suspected packet was booked by the courier service without checking its content?
Similarly, once when I was entering my house, I found an envelope of a private courier lying in the drain adjacent to my home’s main gate. I picked that and astonished to see that it was thrown by the courier service delivery boy without getting signature of the recipient. That envelope contained a cheque of mine. Such irresponsibilities are common in courier services and I am sure if the Postal Services Department will perform its duty with honesty, there will be no need of these private couriers that heavily charge customers for a normal post.
Now I quote two important posts or comments of my friends on social media which I got as a feedback on my previous column ‘Joke of the year’. First post is from Atif Khan Yousafzai, a renowned journalist, in which he narrated his personal experience.
He said, “Sir, the same story happened to me when I purchased a book online from Karachi last month and the book seller sent it through urgent mail service (UMS) of the Pakistan Post. Usually a post reaches its destination in 24 hours through UMS but I did not receive the book even in one week. Lastly, I contacted the book seller and he gave me the details. I went to the post office in Peshawar Saddar where I was informed that my consignment had been handed over to post man for delivery three days back. When the postal officer contacted him on phone he told that he had some other urgent work so he would deliver the book today at evening, however, he did not do so. On next day, I contacted him again and he replied, don't mind it as he went to his village and the parcel left in the village as he forgot that, however, tomorrow he would give me at any cost. Next morning he reached my house and gave the parcel to my son. Unfortunately I had left for my office before his arrival otherwise a serious quarrel was expected.”
And now this post is from a retired bureaucrat, Jehangir Khan. He stated, “It is not a single case of mismanagement, corresponding to a particular government department, but actually all the departments have lost their credibility as we have not yet owned the country in a true sense. The incident which you narrated, compels one to call it an extremely miserable situation of governance in the country.”
The writer is a senior columnist, author, poet, playwright and educationist based in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He can be reached at: drhumayunh@gmail.com.
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