ISLAMABAD   -   Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar clar­ified on Sunday that there would be no double pension for government employees falling in the category of Grade 17-22.

Responding to a point raised by Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah in the Na­tional Assembly, the minister ex­plained that the restriction would not apply to government employees below Grade 17, as there were in­stances where some employees re­tired after 15-20 years of service and started another job.

The minister stated that if some employees (Grade 17-22) were working on a contract basis after retirement, they would have to choose one pension that suited them, as the poli­cy began from the top. He em­phasized that this was an old issue that should have been resolved earlier, which the incumbent government had started to redress. Ishaq Dar mentioned that there was no specific timeframe for pen­sion payments to the depen­dents of retired employees and widows after their pass­ing. However, this has now been limited to 10 years. He stressed that such reforms were crucial because the pen­sion budget had reached Rs 800 billion, which was nearly 50 percent less than the cur­rent figure a few years back. He warned that without these reforms, it would become un­sustainable for the country. Addressing concerns raised by Ghous Bux Khan Mahar of the Grand Democratic Al­liance (GDA) regarding the withdrawal of the urea sub­sidy, the minister stated that the government aimed to promote local fertilizer pro­duction and achieve self-suf­ficiency in this sector. He mentioned that several Paki­stani companies were plan­ning to invest over $200 mil­lion in the urea production sector. He assured the House that the challenges faced by the agriculture sector, consid­ered the backbone of the na­tional economy, would be ad­dressed in due course of time through mutual consultation with all stakeholders.