Pak govt officers face 50% pay cut for Turkey fund
February 23, 2023 10:00
At least 43,000 people have died in the Turkey quake
Without any formal orders by the Pakistan government or the provincial governments, officers of the Balochistan government have found a fifty per cent cut in their salaries this month on the grounds that they are required to contribute to the Turkey relief aid, as per the report by the Asian Lite.
This comes at a time when the Pakistan government is witnessing a severe economic crisis amid allegations of corruption and coercion of being rampant in the country.
The Asia Lite reported that Grade 19 to 21 officers in Balochistan have protested the unilateral salary cut, saying that they were already facing problems feeding their families, faced by a 33 per cent rise in prices of essential commodities. These salaries were their only source of income.
They could not be deprived of their legitimate earnings without any consultation.
A Daily Intekhab report has said the officers have asked if other officers of other grades and provinces were also asked to contribute, or if this was a Balochistan Government diktat.
They plan to appeal to the federal government with the suggestion that they could pay one or two days' salaries, and be spared from the steep 50 per cent salary cut.
Despite severe economic stress, the Shehbaz Sharif Government is trying hard to return the gesture Turkey had made last year when Pakistan experienced nationwide floods.
Nine aircraft sorties have been undertaken and 16 containers carrying 162 tonnes of relief material have been rushed so far. This gesture is not without its political sting, which shows Pakistan in poor light, the Pakistan-based publication reported. -- ANI
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