Salaried Class Given Maximum Relief Within Fiscal Limits: Finance Minister

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Salaried class given maximum relief within fiscal limits: Finance minister

Muhammad Aurangzeb Defends salary hike for ministers, lawmakers amid expenditures through borrowing

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-June 11th, 2025) Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday said that the government can only provide relief within its limited fiscal space, stating that most expenditures are being financed through borrowing, while some national expenses have increased due to pressing needs.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said, “We have attempted to give as much relief as possible to the salaried class. Salaries and pensions need to be linked to inflation. The reality is that we are operating within a constrained fiscal environment, and our ability to offer relief is restricted accordingly.”

He was addressing a post-budget press conference in Islamabad.

He added, “Some national expenditures have been increased out of necessity. We have to proceed according to our financial capacity and adjust our spending accordingly.”

The finance minister emphasized that globally, salary and pension increases are benchmarked against inflation, adding that Pakistan’s inflation rate is currently 7.5%. He stressed the need to reduce Federal expenditures and introduce structural reforms.

Finance Minister Defends salary hike for ministers, lawmakers

Responding to questions from journalists about the substantial increase in salaries for federal ministers and parliamentarians, Aurangzeb said the decision should be viewed in context. “The last time federal ministers' salaries were adjusted was in 2016. If increases had been made annually, this jump would not have seemed abrupt.”

He also defended the government's tariff reforms announced in the budget, saying that out of 7,000 tariff lines, duties on 4,000 have been brought down to zero. “These reforms are aimed at boosting exports,” he noted.

The minister said the government had collected over Rs400 billion in taxes through enforcement efforts this year alone. “There are two ways to increase revenue: either enforce existing tax laws more effectively or impose new taxes. We will engage both houses of Parliament to carry out the required legislation,” he said.

Aurangzeb further revealed that the government had decided, in consultation with the relevant board, not to impose additional taxes on the agriculture sector and would extend loans to small farmers to support the sector.

Journalists boycott press conference

Earlier in the day, the press conference was briefly disrupted as journalists walked out in protest over the government’s failure to provide a post-budget technical briefing — a practice that has been in place for nearly two decades.

The protesting journalists said that such briefings help the media understand the budget’s technical details, and the government had broken tradition by skipping it this year.

Later, Finance Minister Aurangzeb directed relevant officials to engage with the journalists and convince them to return for the session.

Abdullah Hussain

Abdullah Hussain is a staff member who writes on politics, human rights, social issues and climate change.