Civil bureaucracy comes under fire in Senate over lavish spending.
ISLAMABAD – Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani Friday informed the Senate that Pakistan had actively engaged in ending the Gaza crisis and resolution of the Palestine issue.
Responding to a notice raised by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed the siege of land, sea, and air routes of Gaza by the Israeli occupying forces and the killing of innocent Palestinians by dropping phosphorus bombs on residential units, hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and mosques which is worst form of terrorism and violation of International Law and Human Rights, the minister said, “Pakistan has been actively involved in the resolution of Palestine issue for several years, particularly in the last month and a half.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s contributions, he said, “Pakistan, along with Saudi Arabia, co-sponsored the OIC extraordinary session of foreign ministers held last month in Jeddah, and the extraordinary session of OIC was also held in Jeddah due to efforts of Pakistan”. He said Pakistan played a crucial role among the eight foreign ministers who collaborated on a unanimous document during the OIC summit.
The minister said, “Pakistan played a pivotal role in the passage of the resolution presented by Jordan at the United Nations, garnering support from numerous countries.”
“I have received calls of appreciation from around 10 to 15 foreign ministers globally for our efforts in building consensus at the UN on the Jordan resolution in UN” he said. He said,
“There is no doubt that Israel has committed aggression against Palestinians. In fact, it amounts to genocide against the innocent people of Palestine. The situation in Gaza is dire, with a severe lack of water, health facilities, and food, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.”
Condemning Israel for war crimes in Gaza, he urged, “Israel must be held responsible for these actions, and we call upon the international community to focus on the Palestine issue and play a decisive role in ending the crisis. We express hope that the pressure exerted by OIC countries on Israel will yield positive outcomes.”
The minister said that Qatar had played an OIC-mandated role on the issue of Palestine. He said that protests had been carried out in the USA and Europe in favour of the people of Palestine, and the issue of Palestine had emerged center stage in the last one and a half months.
The minister revealed ongoing efforts, and said, “Pakistan is in contact with Egyptian and Jordanian authorities to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. Unfortunately, Israel is currently hindering the delivery of aid to Gaza.”
He said Pakistan had also extended offers of medical assistance, including airlifting the injured to Pakistan and establishing a hospital in Gaza, but Israel had not granted permission for these initiatives.
Regarding the reported casualties, he shared, “As per reports, around 15,000 people have been killed, and 40,000 injured by Israeli forces. UN workers and hospital staff have also fallen victim to the violence, with 37 hospitals and schools destroyed in Gaza, including one in Indonesia.”
In a firm stance, the FM demanded, “Israel must immediately cease its violence against Palestinians, allowing the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
Pakistan reiterated its position, insisting that Israel respects international law by recognizing the right of self-determination for the people of Palestine, he added.
IMF Stand-By Arrangement Caretaker Minister for Finance and Revenue Shamshad Akhtar on Friday informed the Senate that International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) worth $3 billion, of which $ 1.2 billion had been disbursed.
Replying to various questions during Question Hour, she said the duration of the program was 9 months.
The SBA would have two reviews which would be held/ completed in November 2023 and March 2024, she added. The minister said the completion of each review would lead to disbursement of the remaining amount.
The principal repayment was due within 3.25 years of disbursement in eight equal quarterly installments while the interest rate currently stood at 4.198%, she added.
She said “We have met the target of primary deficit in line with the standby arrangement reached with the IMF,” adding the government had also managed to reduce expenditures. The minister said the prices of essential commodities would now gradually come down as a result of the government effective policies.
To another question, Shamshad Akhtar told that State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was a body corporate, established under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956 (Act). The oversight of the affairs and functions of the Bank was entrusted to the Board of Directors under the Act, she said.
Moreover, the Board of Directors was empowered, among other things, to make regulations regarding recruitment, compensation and terms of service of employees, she added. ‘Civil bureaucracy’
Civil bureaucracy on Friday came under fire in the Senate for its lavish spending and lucrative salary packages under management position (MP) scales with the warning that there should be an end to calls of resource reallocation for the provinces as it is the federal government that needed its course correction.
The lawmakers from different political parties expressed concerns over the massive disparity in pay and privileges among employees of different state organizations. The salary packages under different MP scales and of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) came under criticism besides those retired civil and military officers getting pensions in dollars while living abroad.
The issue came under discussion during question hour when the details of the salary packages of SBP officers were placed on the floor of the Senate, and culminated with the call attention notice moved by PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani.
Referring to a recent notification issued by the Ministry of Finance that increased salaries and perks of top bureaucrats in MP scales by a flat 45 percent with effect from October 1, Rabbani said the neck-breaking tariffs of electricity and gas had been increased by ending subsidies on utilities on the dictation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). At the same time, he said there was no end to overspending of the government and its bureaucracy. “The salaries and privileges of the elite are being increased unaccounted for.” Former chairman Senate Rabbani underlined that parliament was always blamed for spending huge public money rather it was the civil bureaucracy, which was “eating (public) money.” He said that when the country was starving for foreign exchange, as many 164 retired military and civil officers were receiving pensions in dollars while living abroad.
PPP stalwart said that the calls for resource reallocation for provinces were wrong as the same should be done for the federal government. He said that it was wrong to say that the 18th Amendment, National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and provinces had “eaten all the public money.”
He warned that if the federal government did not control its expenditures, and the salaries of the bureaucracy, voices would rise that Pakistan was a participatory federation. He added that then at least three smaller provinces can demand to collect all taxes on their own.
He noted minimum wage for an unskilled worker was Rs 32000 per month while initial basic pay from grade 1 to 5 official was Rs 14,390 (average) and from grade five to 15 was Rs 22,840 (average). Similarly, he said that the basic pay of a Senator was Rs 150,000.
On the contrary, he pointed out the recent pay raise in MP-I, MP-II and MP-III, as approved by the caretaker prime minister, was distinct from career bureaucrats. According to the government notification, the minimum and maximum remunerations for an MP-1 scale officer would be between Rs900,090 and Rs1,109,830.
The monthly package for an MP-II position now ranges from Rs370,850 to Rs599,740. In addition to that the monthly monetization allowance for this scale will be Rs77,430. The monthly package for MP-III position has now been revised to between Rs 240,460 and Rs338,960, apart from a monetization allowance of Rs 65,060.
Responding to the call attention notice, Interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar explained that MP scales were introduced to induct top professionals from the private sector to help the public sector. She said that MP scales were last revised in 2017 and the revision notification stated that future pay packages under this category would be revised in proportion to the revision in the basic pay scales of the civil servants. She noted that last time, basic pay scales were increased by 48 percent in 2022 The finance minister urged that the public sector needed experts from the private sectors to cater to its technical requirements in sectors like energy and finance. She said that the bureaucrats in the past were employed to run the machinery of the government but now the demand had increased to modernize the government. “I am not trying to defend it and just explaining the rationale, which is strong,” she added.
Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/25-Nov-2023/israel-rejects-pakistan-s-offer-to-airlift-injured-palestinians-fm
