Cabinet approves Rs1.8 billion parity allowance for bureaucrats

The federal cabinet has approved a new allowance for All-Pakistan Services officers posted in Islamabad and allocated Rs1.8 billion for its payment from July 1, 2026, The Express Tribune reported. 

The “All Pakistan Services Provincial Governments’ Cadre Posts’ Parity Allowance” is the second special allowance approved for senior civil servants in four years, following the introduction of a 150% executive allowance in June 2022.

The decision was taken at a special cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on June 12, although the Cabinet Division released the details on July 17.

At the same meeting, the cabinet approved a 7% salary increase for all government employees and extended federal austerity measures to FY2026-27.

The cabinet directed the Establishment Division, in consultation with the Cabinet and Finance divisions, to submit the proposed rate, structure, eligibility criteria and other conditions of the new allowance to the prime minister for approval.

Sources said the measure was intended to address differences between the compensation and benefits offered to officers serving in the provinces and those posted in the federal government.

They also cited disparities between federal pay structures and compensation offered by the judiciary and specialised institutions such as the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Board of Revenue.

Under Article 240 of the Constitution, All-Pakistan Services comprise civil services whose members can serve in positions shared by the federal and provincial governments. These include the Pakistan Administrative Service and Police Service of Pakistan.

The cabinet also approved calculating the existing 150% executive allowance on the basis of running basic pay as of June 30, 2026, instead of linking it to the 2017 pay scale.

The executive allowance applies to officers in grades 17 to 22 posted by the Establishment Division against sanctioned positions in the federal secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office and President’s Secretariat.

Covered positions include section officers, deputy secretaries, joint secretaries, senior joint secretaries, additional secretaries, additional secretaries in-charge, special secretaries and secretaries.

The allowance was later extended to other service groups following objections over unequal treatment, raising the possibility that additional groups may seek the new parity allowance as well.