Senate body urges govt to increase salaries of civil servants by 10 per cent.

ISLAMABAD -- A parliamentary committee on Monday has recommended the government to increase the salaries of civil servants by 10 percent in order to give them relief.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, which met under the chair of Senator Farooq H Naik, has recommended the government to increase the salaries of civil servants Pakistan has approved a recommendation for an increase in salaries of government employees.

The incumbent government in budget for 2020-21 has not increased the salaries and pensions due to the financial constraints. However, the upper house of the parliament has recommended the government to increase salaries by ten percent. It is not binding for the government to accept the budget recommendations of the Senate.

The committee has also recommended the government to increase the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes. The government has proposed to impose higher taxes on expensive cigarettes and lesser taxes on cheap cigarettes. The committee has also recommended increasing the budget allocation to control locust attack in the country.

It has proposed the government to allocate Rs8 billion instead of only Rs4 billion for controlling the locust attack in different parts of the country. It has also asked the government to allocate Rs75 billion for subsidy on fertilizers to help the farmers. The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue has recommended the government to review the measures, which...