ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee tasked with finding ways to rationalize the government structure and expenses suggested a contributory pension system for public sector employees while presenting its preliminary report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at a meeting focusing on the two objectives in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The development took place right ahead of the federal budget, scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the National Assembly later today.
Pakistan faces large, persistent fiscal deficits that contribute to macroeconomic instability and crowd out public and private investment.
The issue has also become significant in the context of the government’s efforts to secure another International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout since a reduction in the government’s expenses can help reallocate funds to address more pressing economic issues.
“The initial report offered short-term and mid-term recommendations,” said a statement circulated by the PM Office after the meeting. “The committee recommended shutting down some public institutions, merging several, and transferring some to the provinces.”
“All vacant positions which have been unfilled for more than a year should be eliminated to save national funds,” the statement continued. “The committee also recommended introducing a contributory pension system for newly recruited government employees.”
The report also suggested the government impose restrictions on unnecessary official travel and promote teleconferencing.
Subsequently, the prime minister constituted a high-powered committee, asking its members to present a comprehensive action plan within 10 weeks.
He said the committee should utilize the best international practices to provide solid recommendations.
Sharif also expressed hope the committee’s recommendations would save the nation billions of rupees.
The committee that worked on the preliminary report was headed by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and had experts like Dr. Qaiser Bengali, Dr. Farukh Saleem and Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar.
Pakistan mulls contributory pension system to curtail expenditure amid IMF loan talks
https://arab.news/v39k5
Pakistan mulls contributory pension system to curtail expenditure amid IMF loan talks
- A high-level committee presents its report to PM Sharif, recommending closure of some public institutions
- The committee says all vacant positions that have been unfilled for more than a year should be eliminated
Vaughan calls for probe into reports Pakistan stars sidelined from Hundred
- The Hundred is an English 100-ball-per-side franchise cricket competition with eight teams
- BBC says Indian-owned teams may avoid selecting Pakistani players at next month’s auction
LONDON: Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to “act fast” on reports that Pakistani players will be overlooked by Indian-owned teams in the domestic Hundred competition.
Longstanding political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the border rivals only playing each other in international cricket events, although their recent Colombo showdown at the ongoing T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka only went ahead after Pakistan called off a threatened boycott.
It has been claimed that politics has also led to an effective ban on Pakistani players participating in the Indian Premier League, world cricket’s most lucrative T20 franchise competition.
And with several IPL owners now owning teams in several different countries, opportunities for Pakistani cricketers to participate in various leagues are in danger of being reduced further.
The BBC has now reported that the issue could be a factor during next month’s player auction for English cricket’s Hundred, a 100 balls-per-side competition featuring eight franchises rather than the traditional 18 first-class counties.
Players will go under the hammer in London on March 11-12, with the BBC reporting that the four Indian-affiliated Hundred teams — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds will deliberately avoid selecting players from Pakistan.
More than 50 Pakistani cricketers have registered their availability, with four other teams involved in the bidding.
The ECB have been unable to substantiate the BBC allegations, but former England captain Vaughan has called for the governing body to investigate the issue thoroughly.
Vaughan, referencing the ECB’s stated aim of cricket becoming the most inclusive sport in the country, posted on Friday on X: “The ECB need to act fast on this... they own the league and this should not be allowed to happen... the most inclusive sport in the country is not one that allows this to happen.”
An ECB spokesman said: “The Hundred welcomes men’s and women’s players from all over the world and we would expect the eight teams to reflect that.
“Almost 1,000 cricketers from 18 nations have registered for The Hundred auction, with representation on the longlist of over 50 players respectively from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.”
Only two Pakistan internationals — Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim — — appeared in last year’s Hundred, the final edition before new investors became involved.
