Some Kabul-based disables say unpaid for 5 months

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some disabled people in capital Kabul claim they have not received their stipends for the last five months, but the ministry concerned says they will be paid in near future.

The physically challenged persons say every disabled was paid 60,000 afghanis annually during the previous regime but after the Islamic Emirate’s takeover, the sum has been decreased to 36,000 afs annually.

Asadullah, a disabled who lives in Shahrak-i-Maloleen in Kabul city, told Pajhwok Afghan News they had not been paid their stipends since last five months.

He said: “I was paid 60,000 afs annually during the previous government, but now I get only 36,000 afs annually”.

Mohammad Omar, another disabled man,  told Pajhwok he was given 5,000 afs monthly in the past, but now the amount had been decreased to 3,000afs per month.

He said he had received the stipends of six months (Hamal, Sawr, Jawza, Saratan, Asad, Sunbula), but was waiting to be paid for the rest of the six months (Mezan, Aqrab, Qaws, Jadie, Dalwa and Hoot).

They and some other disabled persons said they faced economic problems and their rights must be given to them.

However, Najibullah, another disabled, confirmed to Pajhwok that he had already received his stipends for the whole year.

He said he would be paid 60,000 afs annually in the past, but this year, he was paid 36,000 afs only.

He said the reduced amount was not enough for them and asked the government to increase it to60,000 afs again.

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Haqqani, deputy minister for Martyrs and Disabled Affairs told Pajhwok said that his ministry had so far registered 585,000 martyrs, disabled, widows and orphans nationwide.

Those registered included 350,000 orphans, 155,000 disabled and nearly 80,000 widows, Haqqani said.

He added the current government had registered all disabled, widows and orphans of the previous regime as well.

Only a small number of the registered people did not get their stipends while majority of them had received their rights for six months and the whole year, he said.

He added: “We paid stipends for the first and second quarter of the current year but the payments for the third and fourth quarters were delayed because the MoMDA faced a deficit in its budget”.

But now more budget has been approved and the rest of the disabled and others will be paid their stipends until next week, he added.

All disabled people have been divided into different categories according to the severity of their disabilities, while every widow and orphan is paid 2,000 afs stipend monthly, Haqqani further added.

He said the previous regime had registered about 400,000 disabled and orphans and after their re-registration and screening process, 100,000 of them were found deserving while the rest (300,000) were ghosts.

It is worth mentioning that the current government began paying the martyrs and disabled their stipends in July, 2022.

aw/ma