Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani criticized the federal government on Monday for forming an eight-member committee to revise or grant new allowances for government employees, labeling it as “double standards by the finance minister.”
Despite revenue shortfalls, the government is moving forward with plans to offer generous allowances to its employees, alongside a salary hike of up to 25%, effective July 1, 2024.
A previous report revealed that the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Finance had received multiple requests from employee groups for additional compensation, especially after the recent substantial pay raises for judges. In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a special committee to address the revision or creation of new allowances during the current fiscal year.
This committee, headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, consists of secretaries from finance, cabinet, establishment division, defense, and interior, along with the ministers for economic affairs and state for finance and revenue. Many members of the committee are direct beneficiaries, raising concerns about a conflict of interest.
In a statement, Rabbani highlighted that having direct beneficiaries on the committee violates the principle of impartiality. He also pointed out that the finance minister recently discussed revisiting the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which Rabbani equated to reversing the fiscal devolution established by the 18th Amendment.
Under the 7th NFC Award, the provinces’ share of vertical distribution increased from 49% to 56% during 2010-11 and 57.5% in subsequent years. The horizontal distribution of resources among provinces also shifted to a multi-criteria formula from a population-based system, becoming a contentious issue between the federal and provincial governments.
Rabbani accused the federal government of seeking to reduce the provinces’ NFC share to support the extravagant lifestyle of its bureaucracy. He emphasized that any attempt to violate the 1973 Constitution by reallocating provincial shares would not be tolerated by the provinces.
