ISLAMABAD: A 10 percent cut in the salaries of members of the Cabinet was announced on Tuesday as the Budget 2019-20 was presented by State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar, who termed the development “historic” and “voluntary”.
In his budget speech, Hammad Azhar announced a revision in the salaries of civil servants, with a 10 per cent increase in the salaries of those from Grade 1 to 16, as well as employees of Pakistan’s armed forces.
However, there was no hike in the salaries of civilian government employees from Grades 21 and 22, including the prime minister and the president, as they had voluntarily decided against it.
A 10 percent ad-hoc relief on the running basic pay scales (BPS) for government employees from Grade 1 to 16 was also announced by Hammad Azhar.
Further, the government also announced a five per cent ad hoc relief on the running basic pay scales of government employees from Grade 17 to 20.
The ad hoc relief would be based upon basic pay scales of 2017. Pensioners would also get an ad hoc relief of ten per cent. In addition, the government set the minimum wage at Rs17,500 a month whereas, the pensions were revised upwards by 10 per cent.
“The budget focuses on ensuring economic stabilisation, undertaking projects which create jobs and providing economic stimulus for sustainable growth,” Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb, a spokesperson for Finance Division, said.
