pakistani342
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original article here on the New York Time, excerpts below:
....
KABUL, Afghanistan — Outgunned by the Taliban and often derided by some as little more than uniformed thieves, police officers in Afghanistan do not have an easy job. But in recent months, their lives have gotten even tougher: Afghanistan’s police officers have not been paid since November, and some have not seen a paycheck since October.
The government has the money, which comes from the United States and its NATO allies, but the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, missed a deadline for filing the necessary forms with the Finance Ministry, said Afghan officials interviewed Sunday. The back salaries will be paid in the next few days, the officials said, playing down the issue as a minor administrative mix-up.
...
Western officials, in this case, were caught off guard. Despite the billions of dollars their countries spend to pay the police, many American and European officials were not aware that the police had not been paid for nearly two months. They first heard about it when contacted by a reporter on Sunday.
...
A member of a front-line paramilitary unit fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan had to ask his family for money to buy necessities, like soap. A police commander gave one of his men $20 — a princely sum for most Afghans — to pay a doctor’s bill for the man’s ailing wife. And, in at least two districts, unpaid police officers appear to have begun demanding money from shop owners and villagers, Afghan and Western officials said.
....
KABUL, Afghanistan — Outgunned by the Taliban and often derided by some as little more than uniformed thieves, police officers in Afghanistan do not have an easy job. But in recent months, their lives have gotten even tougher: Afghanistan’s police officers have not been paid since November, and some have not seen a paycheck since October.
The government has the money, which comes from the United States and its NATO allies, but the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, missed a deadline for filing the necessary forms with the Finance Ministry, said Afghan officials interviewed Sunday. The back salaries will be paid in the next few days, the officials said, playing down the issue as a minor administrative mix-up.
...
Western officials, in this case, were caught off guard. Despite the billions of dollars their countries spend to pay the police, many American and European officials were not aware that the police had not been paid for nearly two months. They first heard about it when contacted by a reporter on Sunday.
...
A member of a front-line paramilitary unit fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan had to ask his family for money to buy necessities, like soap. A police commander gave one of his men $20 — a princely sum for most Afghans — to pay a doctor’s bill for the man’s ailing wife. And, in at least two districts, unpaid police officers appear to have begun demanding money from shop owners and villagers, Afghan and Western officials said.
