The government on Monday lifted the long-standing limit on how much senior bureaucrats can earn from serving on corporate boards even as it introduced fresh austerity measures targeting these very organisations.
According to a notification issued by the finance ministry, the earlier order dated July 10, 2014, which capped annual earnings from board meeting fees at Rs1 million, has been “withdrawn ab-initio.” This effectively means the order is considered as if it was never issued in the first place.
The original order, announced on June 12, 2024 with the approval of the then federal cabinet, had stated that government officials appointed to company boards could keep meeting fees only up to Rs1 million per financial year. Any amount exceeding this cap was to be deposited back into the government treasury.
The cap was first introduced nearly a decade ago by then finance minister Ishaq Dar. Although it was largely overlooked over the years, it was formally reaffirmed last year. Now, with the order nullified from inception, all earnings by bureaucrats from board meetings during FY2024-25 have effectively been regularised.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry also issued another notification to continue austerity measures. These measures have now been extended to include federal government’s attached departments, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and statutory bodies such as regulatory authorities.
In the case of SOEs, the notification clarified that these austerity steps are considered binding directions from the federal government under Section 35 of the SOEs (Governance & Operations) Act 2023 and corresponding provisions in the organic laws governing statutory bodies.
The restrictions imposed include a total ban on the purchase of all types of vehicles, creation of new posts, medical treatment abroad, and non-essential foreign visits funded by the government.
Separately, the ministry also announced a 7% increase in net pensions for all civil pensioners covering both civilians paid from defence estimates as well as retired armed forces and civil armed forces personnel.
