By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has granted Pakistan a four-month extension to finalise a transparency measure requiring senior bureaucrats to publicly disclose their assets, after the government warned that exposing officials’ financial details could heighten security and harassment risks.
Under revised terms of its IMF program, Islamabad now has until June 2025 to amend the Civil Servants Act of 1973 and digitise asset declarations for public officials in grades BPS-17 to BPS-22.
The original February 2025 deadline, a structural benchmark tied to Pakistan’s $7 billion extended fund facility, was delayed, aligning the reforms with parliamentary approval of the 2025-26 federal budget.
The changes will mandate digital filings of domestic and foreign assets—including those owned by family members—through the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Declarations will be made public under safeguards to redact sensitive data like bank account numbers and residential addresses, per the Right to Information Act of 2017.
Pakistani authorities had raised “concerns regarding potential security and harassment risks” in making asset details of appointed officials public, distinguishing them from elected members of parliament, who already face such requirements.
The extension was negotiated to address these risks while ensuring “robust” verification by the Establishment Division using a risk-based framework.
Separately, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), FBR, and Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) are advancing measures to grant banks access to asset declarations for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) compliance. This access helps lenders profile politically exposed persons (PEPs) and meet global financial integrity standards.
The SBP is finalising standard operating procedures (SOPs) for banks, while FBR will launch a digital portal by the end of September to streamline requests. Provincial governments are also being urged to adopt similar rules for provincial officials. The FBR will conduct periodic assessments to ensure banks effectively utilise the data, part of broader reforms under Pakistan’s $3 billion IMF standby arrangement.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
