PESHAWAR, Oct 29: Data entry operators (DEOs) appointed to passport offices in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas draw salary less than the minimum one fixed by the federal government, it is learnt.

According to a DEO of the regional passport office, Peshawar, he has been paid Rs6,500 every month since his appointment in 2004 though he is a qualified and skilled person.

He also complained about non-payment of salary for three months and said the organisation attributed it to unavailability of funds.

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had increased the monthly salary of unskilled workers from Rs7, 000 to Rs8,000. The pay raise apply to all employees of government, semi-government, autonomous and private organisations.

A relevant official told Dawn that most DEOs had a master’s degree in computer sciences.

He said DEOs had been appointed to passport offices in Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Kohat, Timergara, Batkhela, Buner, Battagram, Haripur, Chitral, Kurram Agency and Mohmand Agency.

According to him, DEOs total more than 50 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas, while their countrywide tally is more than 200.

The official said DEOs were appointed in 2004 at the launch of machine readable passports and they had been drawing fixed salary since.

He said the interior ministry had repeatedly pledged the pay raise but the pledge had yet to be fulfilled.

The official said the regional passport office was overburdened and therefore, DEOs working there had to stay put for two to three hours after official duty ended.

“No overtime is paid to them,” said another official.

The official said some DEOs were sent to Islamabad headquarters for passport printing every year, especially during Haj season, but they were never given transport and daily allowances.

He said a few years ago, some DEOs demanded increase in salary and as a punishment, they all were transferred to far-off areas.

The official said DEOs, who were in grade-11, drew Rs6,500 salary a month, while gatekeepers and peons at passport offices were paid Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 every month for being permanent employees.

He also said former president Pervez Musharraf had directed the interior ministry on July 1, 2008 to regularise all DEOs and increase their salary, but to no avail.

When contacted, deputy director (north zone) of regional passport office Mian Aurangzeb Khan said he had nothing to do with the appointment of employees and increase in their salary as it was dealt directly by the office of the directorate general of immigration and passports in Islamabad.