The Finance Division has clarified recent reports on civil government expenditure, saying the figures were presented without proper context and could create a misleading impression about the scale of federal spending.

In a statement, the ministry said the increase in expenditure during the first nine months of the fiscal year was largely driven by salary revisions announced in the federal budget as well as higher allocations for key public health initiatives, particularly the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

According to official data, civil government expenditure stood at Rs. 559 billion in the first nine months of FY2024-25, including Rs. 388 billion in employee-related costs and Rs. 171 billion in non-employee spending.

In the same period of FY2025-26, total expenditure rose to Rs. 629 billion, reflecting a 12.5 percent increase. This included Rs. 427 billion in employee-related expenses and Rs. 202 billion in non-employee spending.

The ministry said employee costs increased by about 10 percent, mainly due to salary and pay adjustments introduced through the federal budget. It added that the rise in non-employee expenditure of Rs. 31 billion was largely linked to expanded health sector spending.

Officials noted that Rs. 29 billion of this increase was directed toward the Expanded Programme on Immunization, a nationwide initiative aimed at protecting children against preventable diseases.

After adjusting for this allocation, the underlying rise in non-employee expenditure was approximately Rs. 2 billion.

The Finance Division said presenting aggregate figures without separating welfare-related spending and structural adjustments does not reflect the true nature of government expenditure trends.