Taliban begin paying salaries to govt. staff
The Hindu
Dues for three months to be cleared
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said Saturday they had begun paying government employees who had not received a pay cheque since the Islamists seized power and triggered a major financial crisis.
Most government employees have yet to return to work and many had not been paid for months even before the Taliban captured power, especially rural workers.
“We are going to start paying salaries from today. We will pay three months’ salaries,” Ahmad Wali Haqmal, spokesman for the Finance Ministry said at a press conference.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.