ISLAMABAD: The Upper House of the Parliament has passed the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill 2025, which provides that the financial assets of gazetted officers and those of their spouses and dependent children, to be filed with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), shall be publicly available.
Already passed by the National Assembly, the bill now seeks the final yet ceremonial assent of President Asif Ali Zardari to become a law.
Law Minister Azam Tarar presented the bill in the Senate session, presided over by Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday, following its passage by the standing committee concerned, earlier this month.
The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2025 seeks to amend the Civil Servants Act, 1973 with the insertion of new Section 15-A.
This section provides that the declaration of assets of civil servants of basic scale (BS) 17 and above, their spouses and dependent children, including domestic and foreign assets and liabilities (if any), shall be digitally filed with the FBR, and same shall be publicly available— “Provided that the extent of disclosure, under this section, shall give due regard to the balance between public interest for good governance and individual privacy and security.”
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill reads: To further operationalise the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964— and consistent with the Right to Information Act of 2017, to “ensure that asset declarations of high-level public officials (BPS 17 - 22) (Including domestic and foreign assets beneficially owned by them or a member of their family) will be digitally filed and publicly accessible (with sufficient safeguards over data protection and privacy of personal information such as ID numbers, residential addresses, bank account or bond numbers) through the FBR with a robust framework, resources and tools for the Establishment Division to conduct risk-based verification.”
Speaking on the floor of the House, Tarar, the Law Minister, said, the civil servants of BS-17 to 22 would have to declare their assets and those of their spouses and dependent children “just like politicians declare their assets and those of their family members.”
New bills; Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, were moved in the House and referred to the relevant standing committees.
Meanwhile, the Senate continued discussion on the proposed federal budget for the upcoming financial year 2025-26.
Speaking on the occasion, Husna Bano from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) demanded complete withdrawal of taxes on solar panels.
Another PPP Senator Aslam Abro demanded withdrawal of proposed carbon levy on vehicles.
Different senators from other political parties also shared their views on the proposed federal budget. The Senate was adjourned till today (Friday).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025