Jammu, March 20 (IANS) The opposition Awami National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday criticised the state government for not paying employees the arrears due to them under the Sixth Pay Commission.

ANC vice president Muzaffar Shah criticised the National Conference-led coalition government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also his cousin, for what he called 'wasteful expenditure of the government on ministers and bureaucrats'.

'This government is spending huge sums of money on ministers, their travels and misusing the state aircraft. But when it comes to employees, it says it has no money to pay them arrears. This is sheer excuse and nothing else,' Muzzaffar said addressing a press conference here.

More than 450,000 state government employees were on a three-day strike last week, demanding payment of arrears due to them on account of salary hike on the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

But the government said that it cannot make any payment since it does not have the required resources.

'As and when resources are available, we will make payment of arrears to our employees,' Omar said in the assembly Thursday.

The ANC is headed by Khalida Shah, sister of Omar's father Farooq Abdullah. She became the head of the party after the death of her husband Ghulam Mohammad Shah.

Shah and Farooq had fallen apart in 1984. Shah became chief minister in 1984 after dislodging the Farooq Abdullah government with the help of the Congress.