Islamabad:
The Federal Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase of 15% in pensions provided by the Old Authel Benefits Institution of Employees (EOBI), as of January 1, 2025 on the recommendation of the Extra Pakistan Ministry and Development of Human Resources.
This increase will be financed with the institution’s own resources.
The federal cabinet meeting was held under the presidency of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
The prime minister directed the formation of a cabinet committee to introduce institutional reforms in EOBI.
The Committee will also deliberate on the proposals to extend the benefits of old times to the informal labor sector, including domestic workers, agricultural workers and other marginalized employment categories that have previously been overlooked.
The reforms aim to ensure that workers in these careless sectors receive their due rights.
The cabinet also approved the beginning of the necessary legal procedures with respect to the draft of the Maritime Transport shipping law, 2025, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Maritime.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health Services, the Cabinet approved an extension of five years of exemption on the importation of anti -cancer, cardiac and savings medicines used in hospitals and related medical care institutions.
Medications are considered vital to save human lives, and exemption is intended to guarantee their prompt availability.
These medications will be available only in authorized hospitals and institutions, with the prohibition of open market sales. The importation of these medications will require the prior approval of the corresponding licensing authority.
The cabinet also supported the decisions taken at the meetings of the Cabinet Committee on legislative cases held on July 2, 2025 and July 3, 2025.
Previously he was heading to the cabinet, the prime minister praised the efforts of all provincial governments, the Federal Administration, as well as the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltist (GB) authorities for making the best possible arrangements during Muharram.
He also expressed his gratitude to the agencies of application of the law and all interested parties to maintain the law and order during religious observances.
The prime minister also talked about disaster preparation in the middle of the monsoon season. He said he had presided over a high -level meeting with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Provincial Disaster Management authorities (PDMA) to guarantee the best arrangements. He praised Ndma’s efforts to make arrangements to deal with heavy rains in different parts of the country.
He expressed pain for the loss of lives due to heavy rains in various parts of the country, specifically the tragic incident on Swat. He said it was an unfortunate incident and emphasized the need to learn lessons and implement measures to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
In the economic front, Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed his satisfaction with recent positive trends in macroeconomic indicators.
He reiterated his government’s approach to performance and the provision of services, announcing that the performance of the ministries would be evaluated every two months.
“This message that I want to make aloud and clear, it is about delivery and service to the nation,” said Prime Minister. He added that the ministries that work will be recognized and appreciated, while those who fall short will be responsible and will be asked to explain.
During the meeting, he also praised the Federal Minister of Planning Ahsan IQBAL for the effective use of the development funds of his ministry, noting that the development expenditure had reached more than RS 1 billion under the public sector development program (PSDP).
