On Wednesday, hundreds of employees organized demonstrations in Islamabad, demanding the withdrawal of recently introduced retirement reforms which, according to them, will have a negative impact on their financial security.
The demonstrators gathered at the Chowk secretariat, blocking the two entries at the Government Secretariat.
A strong police presence, including senior officers, was deployed to control the situation, leading to clashes between the police and the demonstrators.
The employees called at the end of what they described as discriminatory policies, in particular the abolition of double pensions and the modifications of the formula for calculating pensions.
They also required a 10% increase in the disability allowance.
The government, which implemented reforms on January 1, 2025, argues that changes will reduce financial responsibilities and put Pakistan in accordance with international tax standards.
As part of the new system, pensions are now calculated on the basis of an average of the last two years of wages, rather than the final salary.
The authorities argue that the new rules will help save billions a year, but the demonstrators insist that they were unjustly retired from the government’s support.
Demonstrations should continue as negotiations remain in a standstill.
Previously, the International Monetary Fund has inquired about the responsibility mechanism of civil servants with differences in their asset declarations, because the overwhelming majority of government employees still remains exempt from the public declaration of assets.
The world lender has also sought to implement a verification based on the risks of information disclosed by possible civil servants and penalties and investigation of officers whose assets exceed their declared sources of income.
However, due to a very close definition of a “civil servant”, it is estimated that 25,000 assets of civil servants can be disclosed even after a modification of the law on civil servants within the framework of the IMF condition for the package From $ 7 billion, government sources have added.
The officers of autonomous organizations, regulatory organizations such as the State Bank of Pakistan, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Pakistan Authority Authority and the provincial civil services will still remain exempt from digital. and their yields and their provincial civil services and civil services Subsequent public disclosure.
The majority of financial decisions are made by government employees working in these organizations, which is also reflected in the figures and the value of the audit objections printed by the auditor general of Pakistan.
The IMF delegation also met the establishment’s division and discussed questions related to the promotion, display and responsibility of officials serving on a basic scale from 17 to 22.
The emphasis put by the delegation was beyond the simple disclosure of information and the action of the concerts against the corrupt officers, the sources said.
The meeting took place the day the federal office approved changes in the 1973 law on civil servants.
