[Pakistan] Embassy in U.S. had no funds for salaries for 4 months

The Pakistan embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries to some of its employees for at least a four-month period, requiring the Pakistani ambassador to intervene and save the day, Business Standard reports.

According to reporting from The News, at least five of the Pakistani embassy's locally recruited contractual employees faced delays and the non-payment of their monthly wages from August 2021.

One of the five affected - who had worked for the embassy for the past ten years - resigned in September as a direct result of the delays, the report said.

The local staffers who went without pay were hired by the embassy on an annual contract basis and worked for the mission on basic wages, ranging from $2,000 to $2,500 per person per month.

Such local hires - whether permanent or contracted - do not receive the perks and privileges that Foreign Office employees enjoy, including healthcare benefits. Domestic staffers are commonly hired to help with the 'Consular section' providing visa, passport, notarisation and other consular services to the diaspora, the report said.

Sources said that such staffers are paid out of the Pakistan Community Welfare (PCW) fund. The fund is generated locally through services fees and dispensed locally too.

Sources reportedly said that the PCW fund collapsed last year because the money was diverted to purchase ventilators and other medical equipment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The embassy’s struggle to maintain the funds eventually affected salary payments, sources said, adding that the embassy had to borrow money from other account heads to keep up with the monthly salaries for the staffers hired locally. 

Another factor to play a part was Islamabad digitising its visa services. They are now handled in coordination with NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority), the report said.

Source: Business Standard

The Pakistan embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries to some of its employees for at least a four-month period, requiring the Pakistani ambassador to intervene and save the day, Business Standard reports.

According to reporting from The News, at least five of the Pakistani embassy's locally recruited contractual employees faced delays and the non-payment of their monthly wages from August 2021.

One of the five affected - who had worked for the embassy for the past ten years - resigned in September as a direct result of the delays, the report said.

The local staffers who went without pay were hired by the embassy on an annual contract basis and worked for the mission on basic wages, ranging from $2,000 to $2,500 per person per month.

Such local hires - whether permanent or contracted - do not receive the perks and privileges that Foreign Office employees enjoy, including healthcare benefits. Domestic staffers are commonly hired to help with the 'Consular section' providing visa, passport, notarisation and other consular services to the diaspora, the report said.

Sources said that such staffers are paid out of the Pakistan Community Welfare (PCW) fund. The fund is generated locally through services fees and dispensed locally too.

Sources reportedly said that the PCW fund collapsed last year because the money was diverted to purchase ventilators and other medical equipment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The embassy’s struggle to maintain the funds eventually affected salary payments, sources said, adding that the embassy had to borrow money from other account heads to keep up with the monthly salaries for the staffers hired locally. 

Another factor to play a part was Islamabad digitising its visa services. They are now handled in coordination with NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority), the report said.

Source: Business Standard