Pakistan: Amid Eid festivities, employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa denied salary advances

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 23 : Amid the Eid festivities, the majority of government employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been denied salary advances, The Express Tribune reported. The development comes at a time when most salaried or self-employed people continue to do the shopping for Eid.

Markets and shopping malls have been buzzing with buyers as people have received their monthly salary in advance or are sole proprietors. However, government employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been denied an advance this year which has shattered both their hopes and that of their family members and affected their spirits, as per the news report.

Mubeen, a former constable at the police department said that he has no savings from the previous month as his entire salary was spent on rations for Sehri and Iftari. He further said, "The salary advance before Eid was my family's only ray of hope, but now we are anticipating a very gloomy Eid," as per The Express Tribune report.

Naveed, a tube well operator in the Gulbahar region working for a local government department, is facing a similar situation. He took a loan to put a smile on his children's faces as they were distraught at not having new clothes to wear on Eid.

According to The Express Tribune, Naveed said, "Every year I would take my family out shopping after receiving an advance. This year however, I did not receive my salary in time. Therefore, I was impelled to take a loan to put a smile on my children's faces."

As many as 600,000 government employees, holding designations in various departments, have been facing a similar situation as they have been denied salary advances worth Pakist Rupees (PKR) 45 billion by the provincial finance department, The Express Tribune reported.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister's Adviser on Finance Himayatullah Khan acknowledged the problem. Khan said that the provincial government is facing a serious financial crisis and added that "this is not in our hands."

Himayatullah Khan said, "This is not in our hands. The provincial government is currently undergoing a serious financial crisis, which has left us with no choice but to delay the crediting of salaries to the 1st of May, after Eid," as per The Express Tribune report.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's caretaker government in Pakistan has been facing a severe financial crisis and has reached the edge of default, The News International reported on April 13.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's government is facing a deficit of Pakist Rupees (PKR) 110 billion in the current month with regard to salaries, pensions, development budget and non-salary budget, The News International reported. The Finance Department refused to give salary and pension to government employees for the month of April in advance on account of Eid.

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