The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Naveed Qamar, convened a meeting marked by sharp criticism over the absence of the Finance Secretary.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb participated virtually, briefing the committee on his recent visit to the United States, where international institutions expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s structural reforms.
A key focus of the meeting was the implementation of the government-mandated minimum wage of Rs. 37,000. The committee revealed that several ministries and divisions, including the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, were not complying with the minimum wage requirement. Committee member Agha Rafiullah pointed out that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was paying only Rs. 28,000, citing board restrictions as the reason.
The Ministry of Finance responded that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis claimed to be paying the full minimum wage, prompting Chairman Qamar to express concern over conflicting information presented to the assembly and the ministry.
Chairman Qamar directed that the data provided by Agha Rafiullah be shared with the Ministry of Finance and the media. Committee members also suggested replacing the minimum wage with a living wage, with the chairman proposing that a private member introduce a bill on the issue.
The Finance Minister informed the committee that budget proposals from chambers of commerce would be reviewed starting February, noting that 95 percent of proposals had been received and were under government consideration. He also announced that policy matters of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, with the Director-General of Tax Policy now reporting directly to the Finance Minister.
Committee member Nafisa Shah introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility Bill 2025, which was referred to a newly formed subcommittee for further review. The subcommittee will be chaired by Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and include members such as Arshad Vohra.
The Finance Minister assured the committee that he would address non-compliance issues with relevant ministers and seek explanations from defaulting ministries and divisions. The committee has requested the Ministry of Finance to provide detailed compliance information within 30 days.
