Islamabad:
On Thursday, the Senate adopted the Bill on Officials (amendments), 2025, with the aim of increasing the transparency and enabling public access to enables from senior officials.
The Bill, which was moved by Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar on behalf of Senator Ahmed Khan Cheema, Minister of Establishment, seeks to change the Officials Act, 1973, as reported by the standing committee.
The legislation is intended to further operationalize the rules of government employees (behavior), 1964-specific rules 12, 13 and 13-a and adapt them to the provisions of the right to Information Act, 2017.
According to the proposed framework, activations of officers in the basic salary scale (BPS) 17 to 22 – including assets, which are advantageously owned domestic or abroad by the officials or their family members – will be submitted digitally and made publicly available.
The bill provides that sufficient security measures will be ensured to protect sensitive personal information, such as national identity numbers, housing addresses and banking or bond account numbers.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) maintains the digital platform, while the establishment department will be equipped with a robust framework, resources and tools to implement risk -based verifications of the submitted declarations.
Meanwhile, senators expressed serious concerns about the country’s fiscal policy, especially the introduction of taxes in significant sectors and the financial difficulties facing ordinary citizens.
While participating in the general discussion of budget 2025-26, Senator Dost Ali Jesor criticized the 18 percent sun tax and called it unreasonable and burdensome on low-income families investing in solar panels and batteries.
He called for the total elimination of the tax and claimed that the recent cut – which lowered GST on solar cell panels by more than 10 percent from the previous 18 percent – remains inadequate.
Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir presented an overview of the federal budget said we would need more loans to finance ongoing development projects, pension payments and social welfare programs such as Bisp.
He warned that Pakistan’s debt costs are alarmingly high, with interest payments that consume 30 to 35 percent of the loans taken by successive governments.
Jam Saifullah pressed on the commencement of the long-delayed M-6 motorway project and criticized inadequate PSDP assignments. He also raised environmental considerations and opposed tax on electric and hybrid vehicles, which he said undermines national climate targets. In addition, he called for increased support for employees and retirees to fight inflation.
Senator Haji Hidayatullah Khan highlighted the disproportionate tax burden for the poor who assessed the 10 percent pay rise for government employees inadequate in the current economic crisis. He warned of declining agricultural productivity and emphasized urgent government intervention to revive the sector.
Hidayatullah called Solar Energy an important resource for Pakistan’s future, demanding the removal of taxes on solar panels to encourage wider adoption.
With reference to a report on the World Health Organization, he emphasized that 45 percent of people live below the poverty line and over 270 million children remain out of school, emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize education and healthcare.
