Over 50 Federal Institutions in Pakistan Found Offering Salaries with Excessive Allowances
ISLAMABAD: It has been revealed that employees in more than 50 federal institutions are receiving additional allowances exceeding 100 percent of their basic salaries, according to official sources.
Officials familiar with salary structures stated that in several cases, total monthly pay packages in these institutions are two to three times higher than those of officers in the same grade working in regular government departments.
The institutions benefiting from these enhanced pay structures include the Presidency Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, National Assembly Secretariat, Senate Secretariat, higher judiciary institutions, National Accountability Bureau, intelligence agencies, tax authorities, as well as various special tribunals and courts.
In addition to constitutional offices and enforcement bodies, employees in certain educational, rehabilitation, and health institutions, tribunals, police organizations, and autonomous bodies are also receiving higher allowances.
Authorities noted that over the years, the federal government has introduced various allowances for selected institutions, citing performance incentives, operational requirements, and the need to retain skilled professionals. However, this has resulted in multiple overlapping pay systems within the same government structure.
As a result, a Grade 20 officer in a standard ministry may earn significantly less than a counterpart in another institution enjoying special allowances despite being in the same grade.
Critics argue that this situation has undermined the principle of a uniform pay structure, describing it as creating a “government within a government.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance introduced the Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) for federal secretariat employees to address widening salary gaps. However, most employees outside the secretariat were excluded from this benefit.
While the move was intended to reduce growing dissatisfaction among civil servants, officials say influential institutions continue to secure additional allowances for their staff, further widening the disparity in the federal pay system.
