Islamabad:
The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved a 15% increase in pensions provided by the old age benefit institution (EOBI), with effect from 1 January 2025, on the recommendation of the Ministry of OverSEA’s Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.
This increase is financed from the institution’s own resources.
The meeting in the federal cabinet was held under Presidency by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
The Prime Minister instructed the formation of a cabinet committee to introduce institutional reforms in Eobi.
The committee will also consider proposals to expand the benefits of old age to the informal work sector, including housework workers, agricultural workers and other marginalized employment categories previously overlooked.
The reforms aim to ensure that workers in these neglected sectors get their rights.
The cabinet also approved the commencement of necessary legal procedures regarding the draft of the Law Documents for the Sea Van, 2025, following the recommendation of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
Following the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health Services, the cabinet approved a five-year extension of the exemption for the import of anti-cancer, heart and life-saving substances used in hospitals and related health institutions.
The medicines are considered crucial to save human lives and the exemption is intended to ensure their quick accessibility.
These drugs will only be available in hospitals and authorized institutions with a ban on open market sales. Importing these drugs requires prior approval from the relevant license authority.
The cabinet also approved the decisions made in the meetings of the Cabinet Committee for regulatory cases held on July 2, 2025 and July 3, 2025.
Previously addressing the cabinet, the Prime Minister praised the efforts of all provincial governments, the federal administration, as well as authorities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to make the best possible events under Muharram.
He also expressed gratitude to the law enforcement and all stakeholders to maintain law and order under the religious observations.
The prime minister also talked about disaster preparedness in the middle of the ongoing monsoon season. He said he had chairman of a high -level meeting with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and provincial disaster management authorities (PDMA) to ensure the best events. He famous NDMA’s efforts to arrange events to tackle heavy rain in different parts of the country.
He expressed grief over the loss of life due to heavy rain in different parts of the country, specifically the tragic incident in SWAT. He said it was an unfortunate incident and emphasized the need to learn lessons of it and implement measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
On the economic front, Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the recent positive trends in macroeconomic indicators.
He repeated his government’s focus on performance and delivery of services and announced that the ministry’s performance would be evaluated every two months.
“This message I will make loud and clear – it is about delivery and service to the nation,” the Prime Minister emphasized. He added that ministries that are doing well will be recognized and appreciated, while those who fall short will be held responsible and asked to explain.
During the meeting, he also praised the federal Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal for his ministry’s effective utilization of development funds and noted that development costs had reached over RS 1 trillion under the public sector development program (PSDP).
