The government on Tuesday said work was in progress for retirement and pension reforms which would be applicable to all the institutions – a move that is expressing Islamabad’s desire to reduce government spending for controlling budget deficit.
Addressing a press conference after a federal cabinet meeting, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Pakistan had a large of government employees and the country could not afford the current level of expenditure.
Pension and retirement reforms would be introduced by taking all stakeholders – different institutions including judiciary and military – into confidence and the government wasn’t going for anything controversial, the minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said pension was a huge burden and explained that the government had sought suggestions from different stakeholders so that an effective policy could be formulated.
“We are moving towards boosting revenue generation and reducing [government] expenditures,” he said , at a time when an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is expected to arrive in Pakistan next week to hold talks on a new programme under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and climate financing.
