A report indicates that employees in Pakistan’s diplomatic missions have not received their salaries for a period of three months

In the midst of a shortage of available dollars, the Ministry of Finance has reportedly been unable to disburse salaries to staff members employed in specific diplomatic missions for the past three months, as per a report by The News published on Thursday, citing inside sources.

The finance ministry has consistently cited the exhaustion of foreign exchange reserves as the reason for the delay in salary disbursements, even for the current month, leading to significant discontent.

This implies that employees stationed in the notably expensive cities of Washington, Hong Kong, and Singapore will have to endure four months without receiving their salaries.

High-ranking sources confirmed, “The press attaches stationed in Washington, DC, and Hong Kong, as well as the press counsellor based in Singapore, have been without salaries since June,” during discussions with The News on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Information also shares some responsibility for this issue, as it allocated funds for foreign exchange that did not align with the actual needs.

This problem arose in the previous fiscal year, 2022-23, as well. However, then-Finance Minister Ishaq Dar approved the provision of salaries through supplementary grants/technical supplementary grants for employees within the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet.

One source mentioned that even schools have alerted parents that their children will not be permitted to take exams if fees are not paid in this month.

Nevertheless, senior officials from the finance ministry lacked specific details on the matter. The ministry has yet to designate a spokesperson, making it difficult for journalists to obtain their perspective on various pressing issues.

In the meantime, Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi, when approached regarding this matter, responded, “Let me first inquire with the finance minister.”