Pakistan govt. halts clearance of bills, salaries amidst economic crisis: report
The Hindu
The country's weekly inflation remained stubbornly elevated at 2.78% week-on-week
The cash-strapped Pakistan government has directed the accountant general to cease the clearing of bills, including salaries, owing to the current economic crisis, according to a media report on February 25.
The Ministry of Finance and Revenue also instructed the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) to halt the clearing of all the bills of the federal ministries/divisions and attached departments until further notice, The News International quoted official sources as saying.
The newspaper reported that the operational cost-related releases faced difficulties mainly due to the economic hardship facing the country.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which fell to a critically low level of $2.9 billion a few weeks ago, have now risen closer to $4 billion, even as the country eagerly waits for the $1.1 billion tranches of funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, who was contacted for a comment by the newspaper, said it might be untrue but promised to get back after confirmation.
Sources said that they went to the AGPR office for clearance of their outstanding bills but were informed that the Ministry of Finance had directed them to stop clearing all the bills, including the salaries, because of the prevailing difficult financial positions.
The exact reasons could not be ascertained why the clearance of bills was stopped on an immediate basis.