PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday linked the increase in the salaries of the public sector employees to the federal budget.

Finance Minister Aftab Alam said this while responding to the criticism of the opposition members in the KP Assembly who supported the protest by All Government Employees Association in front of the KP Assembly.

He said the provincial government would decide on a raise in salaries of the employees after the federal government decision on the subject.

The finance minister assured the House that a committee would be formed to address employees’ concerns, adding the chief minister had been contacted on the issue.

He made the statement as a large number of government employees, including lady health workers, had gathered at the KP Assembly Chowk to demand a proper raise in salaries. The protests led to the worst traffic jams in various parts of the city as vehicular traffic was diverted to several roads due to the protest at the KP Assembly Chowk.

The KP government had presented the provincial budget recently ahead of the federal one. It had announced a 10 percent raise in salaries and pensions.

The government employees had rejected the raise and called for a hike which was in accordance with inflation.

Earlier, Adnan Wazir of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl–Fazl (JUIF) said the provincial government had not raised salaries and pensions according to inflation.

He advised the KP government to hold dialogue with employees’ representatives to resolve the problem on a priority basis.

Other opposition members termed the performance of the General Administration Department as poor and disappointing. They said the KP House Islamabad was a place for MPAs use but they did not get rooms were occupied by the bureaucracy and their families.

MPA Sobia Shahid of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Riaz Khan and Rehana Ismail of JUIF slammed the KP government for heavy expenses and frequent transfers of bureaucrats.

The finance minister said the fuel charges for the deputy commissioners had been reduced from 600 liters to 390 liters per month. He assured he would personally check the allotment of rooms in the KP House.

Meanwhile, more than Rs16 billion demands of grants by different departments were presented and the House approved the same.

Minister Excise and Narcotics Khaleequr Rehman told the House that the provincial government was taking tangible steps to control drug addiction. He said awareness seminars were being arranged in the educational institutions.

The speaker adjourned the proceedings till Thursday.