ISLAMABAD - The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday recommended to the government to increase the salaries and pensions of the civil servants by at least 20 percent as against the announcement of increasing these by 10 percent.

The Senate body, which met here under the chair of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, discussed the budget recommendations of the senators.

These recommendations would then be forwarded to the National Assembly for incorporation in the Finance Bill.

The committee recommended the proposal floated by Senator Farhatullah Babar to increase the salaries and pensions of government employees by 20 percent.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in his budget speech, had announced to enhance pays and pensions by 10 percent that would cost RsRs57 billon to the national kitty.

Special secretary, Finance said the government would review the recommendation based on the available resources. The committee also suggested to the government to implement its decision of fixing minimum wages at 14,000, as majority of the industries paid less than Rs10, 000 per month to their workers.

Despite opposition by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, the Senate body also asked the government to slash the General Sales Tax (GST) rate to 12 percent from 17 percent in order to reduce burden on the poor.

FBR Chairman Nisar Khan said that only one percent reduction in GST would cost Rs70 billion to the government.

The committee also asked the government to take parliament into confidence before seeking foreign and domestic loans. It also called for the timely release of the amount allocated for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to ensure no delay in the completion of projects.

The Senate Committee on Finance also proposed withdrawal of GST on the agriculture sector. “The government should formulate fresh National Finance Commission award, as its delay was not in the interests of the country,” it was stated in the recommendation.

The committee also suggested to the government to release funds for the western route of the CPEC on a priority basis. The senators also asked the government to introduce special incentives for the promotion of solar energy in the country.

The committee proposed that long-term economic policies should be formulated to transform Pakistan into a welfare state, instead of a security state.

The committee also approved the proposal of the Senator Osman Saifullah Khan for setting up an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at PIMS Islamabad.