• Cabinet okays IMF-required changes to Civil Servants Act, requiring govt officials to declare assets owned by them, their family members
• Policy to promote interfaith harmony, end sectarian strife also gets nod

ISLAMABAD: In line with a demand by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal cabinet has given its nod to a proposed amendment in the Civil Serv­ants Act 1973 that will bind government officials (BPS 17 to 22) to share details of their assets along with those owned by their family members.

The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday approved all decisions of its legislative committee that also included the proposed legislation to the civil services law.

According to a source, under the proposed amendments in Section 15 of the Civil Servants Act 1973, government servants will have to provide details of their and their family member’s assets owned in other countries. Simi­larly, government officials will have to declare the assets they own in other parts of the world.

It has also been learnt that after the completion of digitalisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), it will become mandatory for taxpayers to provide details of foreign investments and properties abroad.

The government is supposed to legislate on this issue by February 2025 to ensure that asset declarations of high-level (BPS 17-22) public officials are digitally filed and publicly accessible, though with sufficient safeguards over data protection and privacy of personal information.

During the meeting, the PM highlighted his government’s tedious efforts to achieve sustai­nable economic gro­wth based on enhanced productivity and industrial buildup. The PM also referred to his interaction with the managing director of the Interna­tional Monetary Fund (IMF) in Dubai who appreciated Pakistan for its efforts in implementing the IMF programme and amicably achieving economic indicators. The premier said the appreciation of the IMF chief was encouraging.

“Pakistan has presented the Palestine case in a befitting manner at the Dubai Summit as 50,000 innocent Palestinians have been killed which is a great tragedy,” the prime minister said. He commented on the Libya boat incident and regretted that many precious lives were lost.

He directed the quarters concerned to ensure that this crime came to an end. While reprimanding the irresponsible statements of the Israeli prime minister, the prime minister said that Pakistan would continue to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, the cabinet also approved a new policy to ensure interfaith harmony and religious tolerance in the country through an action plan for the protection of religious minorities.

The policy was presented by the religious affairs ministry. The cabinet was informed that a sub-committee had presented the recommendations after reviewing the interfaith harmony policy and religious tolerance strategy.

Under the strategy, dialogues and conferences as well as public awareness campaigns on religious tolerance would be organised. Similarly, measures would be taken to prevent hate material and literature besides preparing a plan of action to resolve various sectarian differences. The cabinet also approved the appointment of Laila Ilyas Kalpana and Satwant Kaur as female members of the Evacuee’s Trust Property Board.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz emphasised that the provision of the essential food items to the people at affordable prices was the top priority of the government. He also directed the relevant authorities to prepare a comprehensive strategy to ensure the availability of food items at affordable prices during Ramazan.

The cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, approved the appointment of Dr Hassan Al-Amin (BS-21) as the Director of the National Institute of Pakistan Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. The cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Finance, approved the appointment of Tahira Raza as a non-executive member of the State Bank of Pakistan for a period of five years.

The federal cabinet, on the recommendation of the Revenue Division, also approved the signing of the initial draft of the convention between the federal government and the Iraqi government regarding the elimination of double taxation on income tax and capital, as well as measures to prevent tax evasion and tax non-compliance.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2025