PM approves allowance equal to three basic pay

The allowance is seen as the move to ‘offer olive branch’ to government servants ahead of elections

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved honorarium equivalent to three basic pays for all the federal government employees in the outgoing financial year 2017-18 ending on June 30.

The PM has ordered the issuance of the honorariums for the federal government employees in his capacity as chairman Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). “The prime minister has seen and is pleased to order that all employees of the federal government shall be given honorarium equivalent to three basic pays for financial year 2017-18… a policy may be formulated by the new elected government after elections 2018,” reads a notification issued on Friday by Secretary to PM Fawad Hasan Fawad.



As per the previous policy, one to seven honorariums were paid to the employees of Finance Ministry, Federal Board of Revenue, Planning Commission and Economic Affairs Division who were involved in budget preparations, depending upon the extent of their involvement in budget making.

With less than a week remaining for the federal government to meet its term, the PM’s initiative to give honorariums to all the federal government employees is seen as a move to ‘offer olive branch’ to government servants at a time when general elections are around the corner, official sources said.

The new financial year 2018-19 starts on July 1, which implies that the honorariums equivalent to basic pay would be issued to all the federal government employees not later than June 30, when the outgoing financial year lapses.