Govt’s 10pc salary raise sparks outrage, not relief

Islamabad:Presenting annual budget for the Fiscal 2025-26 in the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has announced an increase of 10 per cent in the salary of employees working in public-sector institutions.

When the Minister was playing with statistics, graphs and tables, the protesters of All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA) which included many allies like Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) were staging demonstrations outside Red Zone here to press for their demands top of which was 50 per cent increase in their salary and pension and fixing Rs50,000 per month as minimum pay for a government employee.

Incidentally, PPP’s Labour Bureau Head Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed in a press conference where Nadeem Afzal Chan, PPP Information Secretary, was also present, had also demanded 50 raise in salary and pension a day before budget.

Fifty per cent versus 10%“Ik rayat-e-tankhwa mili, woh bhi 10 per cent, dekhay hein hum ne hoslay, wazir e rezgar (coins) kay.” It is a perfect occasion for Nadeem Afzal Chan to phone his aide in the village: “Mukhtariya! Tankhwa ‘wadh’ gayi ay per opposition dasdi naeen payee.”

Dear Minister! It appears in the name of Das Percent, you have done Das Numbri to the government employees. Keeping the rate of rise in pension even less than 10, you have ridiculed the senior citizens as well. “Tankhwa ‘wadh’ naeen gayee balkay ‘warh’ gayee ay.”

The Minister told reporters in his post budget briefing Wednesday that Climate Change is an existential threat. And to stop this, he imposed 18% duty on solar panels! As King Aurangzeb had taken the Mogul empire to a disaster, our Aurangzeb is taking this unfortunate nation to the same destination. Why is he so averse to a cheap, clean, environment-friendly and carbonless source of energy?

I think he knows the difference between “khirad” and “janun’ more than Hasrat Mohani. Should we expect steps against wind, tidal, hydel and geothermal energy in near future from such whiz-kids? What else is stored in the “zambeel” of our Umar-o-Ayyars in the government and bureaucracy?

How can Climate Change be forestalled? By creating ministry, division and department in the name of Climate Chang? No. Implant trees, forests, orchards, gardens and crops. Promote renewable sources of energy with no carbon emissions. Solar Panels also are an assurance against the government’s favourite announced or un-announced load-shedding at least in the day time. Kudos for a government that make payments in billions to independent power producers even without producing a watt but is not ready that general public produce their own electricity without involving a penny from the government!

This is our suicidal way of meeting existential threats!!!

Last but not the least. Now that the Finance Minister has increased the salary of government employees in a thumping way (or is in Trumping way), will he incorporate this raise in the recurring account-heads of institutions where these employees work?

Because, recurring grant of not a single public-sector non-military university in the country had any increase incorporated in its budget since 2018 which obviously would include this 10 per cent increase this year also. And the result is that after failing to pay successive increases in the last 7 years from their own sources, a retired Professors from the No 1 Quaid-i-Azam University has suggested that universities should collect “Qurbani ki Khalain” to pay salary and pension.

How about creating an Animal Skin Division under the Ministry of Education to arrange collection, procession, selling/exporting sacrificial animals’ hides and incorporating the amount thus collected into the recurring grants budget of Higher Education Commission?