Man is like a tree which remains green, shady and bears fruit
for mankind as well as fodder for cattle, so long as it is
maintained and protected from biotic factors. With the passage
of time, it is likely to deteriorate and finally when it becomes
hollow and its roots too weak to hold it, it falls down. A man
is usually considered old when he reaches the retirement age of
public servant which was 55 years before the Partition and
later, was fixed at 60. That is to say that a person who has
passed 60 summers of his/her life is deemed to be old, but this
is not true. Ageing is a development process that begins from
conception to birth and up to the end of life. It is growing and
maturing through the different phases of life. According to the
report UNFPA Demographic Prognosis for South Asia the proportion
of older population in Pakistan declined from 8.2 per cent in
1950 to 5.3 per cent in 1985. By the turn of the century it had
increased to six per cent. It is expected to exceed nine per
cent by 2025 and incr