My ‘age’ was a ‘burden’ and I lived in silence,” wailed a 78-year-old’s journal, stricken by chronic loneliness. His words perfectly encapsulate his pain, but many others spend their days wallowing in seclusion. Regretfully, this vantage of the ivory tower is a best-case scenario. May it be the clutches of emotional, psychological or physical trauma, the trauma of those shackled down by the grip of age remains a silent menace. Remember the heart-wrenching video of a man and his wife mercilessly thrashing his elderly mother? Countless others languish in the same agony and desperation. When their own flesh and blood turns a blind eye to their troubles, thankfully, they have the state to mind the store. In a first, a man was recently sentenced to one month for torturing and forcefully evicting parents from the house. The wronged elderly have the Parental Protection Ordinance 2021 to be grateful for. Thank heaven for the changing tides! Now, the kaptaan has come to the aid of those who were being sandbagged by their kith and kin. Pakistan is greying fast. By 2050, there will be more than 40 million people above the age of 65. An achievement of global strides in medicine. But sadly, we are not ready for this newly-found longevity. With fewer children per family and intensified shifts in migration patterns, elderly co-residence was bound to be affected. If talking about rural areas, increasing mobility of workers (by dint of urbanisation) may see the parents being left behind. On the other hand, those starting a new family in urban areas prefer to value privacy than taking a leaf out of the traditional playbook. All very well until we take a quick glance at the sob-tale of senior citizens. For they stand to lose the most in this new reality. After a lifetime of backbreaking struggle for their children’s well-being, a mere flick of a switch turns them into dependents themselves. An unfortunate reversal of the status quo finds them in need of constant care, company and other amenities. Ah! The unavoidable turning of the tables! Add to that the menace of greed that does not stop at children pinching pennies for their must-haves. Many a time, they are even kicked out of their own homes. The fact that we already had legislation the likes of Punjab Senior Citizens Welfare and Rehabilitation Bill for their support speaks doubly about their shambolic affairs. While similar bills were passed all across the country, their implementation remains to be seen. An overambitious senior citizens council was also talked about in Sindh Senior Citizens Welfare Act, but easier said than done. Though a majority of Asian countries are treading the same turbulent waters, it is particularly distasteful to see our abandoned elderly slip through the cracks. Because even in the face of rising parent abandonment, we are still very proud of our “family-oriented” values. This pioneering case is a new beginning, but rest assured, it is just the beginning. The ruling PTI has definitely come around for the defence of the old and the abandoned. But if the authorities are serious about giving our senior citizens the support they rightfully deserve, they better pull up their socks. For it is not just the prosecution of those who go off the rails, but a systematic identification of what the elderly actually need. Yes, giving them a legal foundation to defend what is theirs from their own is a must but so is social security and health insurance. Ageing is an inevitable reality. Yet, if both state and society are willing to go the extra mile in treating parents as the asset they are, old age would no longer be feared but looked forward. After all, “time and tide wait for no man!” *