ISLAMABAD: In a stark contrast to the lofty promises of economic revival, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb informed the National Assembly on Monday that there are no proposals under consideration to increase salaries or pensions of government employees in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26.
In a written reply to questions asked by the members, the finance minister said that the government has no plan to revise pay scales or allowances for federal employees.
“There is no proposal under consideration to increase the salaries of government employees and pensioners in the next fiscal year,” he added.
He further stated that there is also no proposal to revise the pension structure for federal government employees. However, he said that the government is reviewing the limits for hiring and ceiling allowances for employees. On the other hand, he said that it is considering increasing the limit on hiring private houses for government employees.
According to the Finance Division, the government is also not considering increasing the pension of retired government employees for the next fiscal year.
The announcement comes as a blow to government employees who were anticipating relief in the form of salary or pension adjustments amid rising inflation and economic challenges.
During question hour, the house was informed that various ministries are working in close coordination to meet an export target of Rs60 billion within the next five years.
In February this year, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that the government aims to increase exports from $30 billion to $60 billion within the next three to five years.
In response to supplementary questions from members during the question hour in the house, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal highlighted the emphasis on diversification and value addition in exports.
He noted that existing free trade agreements with other countries are under review to enhance their effectiveness.
Additionally, he mentioned that the government is actively engaging with industries and manufacturers to resolve their issues and improve productivity.
Kamal said that the country’s imports surpassed $5 billion, reaching $5.2 billion in December 2024, which has contributed to an increased trade deficit that also exceeded $2 billion, amounting to $2.35 billion in December 2024.
In a written reply to a question, he said that Pakistan imported 3,140 metric tons of sugar, costing $3.0366 million, from March 2024 to January 2025 under the current administration.
In another written statement, he said that the GSP Plus arrangement is a unilateral trade benefit granted by the European Union to Pakistan.
He further indicated that the Ministry of Commerce has implemented several initiatives under the current Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF 2020-25) to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of Pakistan’s exports.
Kamal emphasized that Pakistan is pursuing long-term strategies to reduce reliance on GSP Plus by diversifying its exports, increasing value addition, and improving compliance with international standards.
He said that structural reforms are aimed at facilitating business operations, enhancing trade, and supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to boost competitiveness.
He concluded by stating that the Ministry of Commerce is developing a new draft National Tariff Policy (NTP 2025-30) that prioritizes the SME sector and aims to lower production costs for the domestic value-added manufacturing sector by reducing duties on imported inputs, ultimately striving to achieve export growth.
In response to a calling attention notice, Finance Minister Aurangzeb said that the international consulting firm McKinsey was engaged through a transparent and competitive selection process to facilitate the digitalization of the country’s taxation system.
He further noted that the Gates Foundation is financing this initiative, ensuring that the national treasury will not bear any costs associated with it.
Additionally, two bills were presented in the National Assembly, which include the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The National Assembly passed a resolution to extend the “Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024” for an additional one hundred and twenty days, effective from the 2nd of the upcoming month.
Another resolution was also adopted to extend the “Income Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024” for a further one hundred and twenty days, starting from the 27th of the following month.
Furthermore, six reports from various standing committees of the Senate were presented to the house.
The fiscal policy statement for January 2025, the debt policy statement for January 2025, and the performance monitoring report for the financial year 2023-24 were also presented in the house.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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