BANNU: Dozens of employees of the health department, North Waziristan, here have demanded of the government to pay them their outstanding salaries.

Speaking at a press conference in Bannu Press Club the other day, the employees, including Malik Farooq Khan Dawar, Nazar Hussain, Akbar Khan and Inamullah, urged the provincial government and relevant health authorities to release their outstanding salaries immediately and restore them to duty at their respective hospitals.

They said that they had not received salariesfor the past18 months and were waiting for restoration oftheirjobs.

The employees alleged thattheir salaries had been withheld after they were declared `ghost` employees and records indicated that they were residing abroad. They maintained that despite being cleared after physical verification, their salaries had not yet been restored.

They alleged that as many as 538 employees had beendeclared `ghost` workers or marked as residing abroad, adversely affecting their employment status.

The employees said the withholding of their salaries had left them penniless, forcing them to endure severe financial hardships for the pastyear and a half.

They stated that they had repeatedly approached the relevant authorities for justice and undergone physical verification to establish their presence.

However, despite the verification, their salaries had notbeen restored, nor had they been reinstated in their jobs.Expressing gratitude to senior officials who had supported their case, the employees said the secretary health in Peshawar had cleared all 538 employees following physical verification. However, they lamented that the issue of their unpaid salaries remained unresolved despite their clearance.