Budget FY26: Punjab govt suggests 10% hike in salaries

The Punjab government suggested a 10% hike in salaries of government employees as Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman presented the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 on Monday.

In his budget speech at the Punjab Assembly, the finance minister said that salaries of Grade 1 to 22 employees were being raised by 10%. It has also been decided to increase pensions by 5%, he added.

Earlier today, Mujtaba presented the province's 'zero-tax' Rs5,335 billion budget.

In a prior statement, the minister had said that the budget will reflect the development vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and will be "people-friendly".

Ahead of the assembly session, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz approved the provincial budget.

"Despite a comparatively compressed budget, the ADP [Annual Development Programme] has increased by 47% from 842 bn to 1240 bn while government operational expenses rose only by 3%, even after salary & pension increases," Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in an X post.

In another X post, Aurangzeb said: "Under Chief Minister Punjab's fearless and reformist leadership, Budget 2025-26 breaks free from outdated traditions."

She said the budget 2025-26 reflected a historic and strategic realignment of priorities with historic and highest development allocation of Rs1,240 billion with total outlay of Rs5,335 billion.

The minister said the provincial budget was "zero tax budget meaning NO NEW TAX has been imposed nor has any tax rate been enhanced with the road map to increase the Punjab Tax net".