Government employees would get a 15 per cent increase in their salaries, country’s finance czar Miftah Ismail announced on Friday, as people fight rising inflation and hours-long load shedding in the hot sweltering weather.

“Due to the PTI government, Pakistan has the third-highest rate of inflation among major countries,” he said while presenting the budget for the financial year 2022-23 in the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had rejected the finance ministry’s proposal of a 10% increase and had approved an increase in government employees’ salaries of 15% with the consent of the cabinet, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had earlier said in a tweet. The government has also approved merging adhoc allowances into the basic pay.

This is another benefit for Pakistan’s civil servants as the former government had also increased their salaries amid the increasing poverty rate. They have also got a five-day week.