Islamabad, 24th December, 2025 - A meeting of the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs was held today under the Chairmanship of Mr. Rana Iradat Sharif Khan, MNA, in Committee Room No. 7 (4th Floor), Parliament House, Islamabad.
2. Member Finance Railway briefed the Committee that Pakistan Railways (PR), an attached department of the Railways Division, is the only government department that pays pensions to its retired employees from its own resources.  The Pakistan Railways (PR) is facing substantial and rapidly growing pension liabilities i.e. Commutation, Leave Encashment, Prime Minister’s Assistance Package and Benevolent Fund related claims without a dedicated pension fund. Pension expenditure has grown at a rate significantly higher than operational revenues, placing persistent pressure on the budget of Pakistan Railways and constraining investment in core railway operations Pakistan Railways (PR) has been undertaking operational and financial reforms aimed at improving revenue generation, controlling expenditures, and reducing dependence on government support. Pakistan Railways (PR) has demonstrated a gradual but sustained improvement in its financial and operating performance. The operating performance of PR shows a significant turnaround. Revenue increased from Rs. 48.649 billion in FY 2020-21 to Rs. 93.601 billion in FY 2024-25. Operating losses of Rs. 8.196 billion in FY 2020-21 and Rs. 8.460 billion in FY 2022-23 were reversed to an operating surplus of Rs. 0.412 billion in FY 2023-24, which further improved to Rs. 2.417 billion in FY 2024-25. This improvement reflects enhanced operational efficiency and expenditure control.
3. The additional Secretary finance briefed the Committee that despite fiscal constraint, considerable budgetary allocation has been consistently provided to Pakistan Railways which amounts to Rs. 70 bn in Current Fiscal Year. The annual pension expense of Pakistan Railways is lower than the grant provided by the Government during the preceding years and that, during 2022-23 & 2023-24, an additional grant of Rs. 2.5 bn and Rs. 2 bn respectively was also arranged by Finance Division to help Pakistan Railways to clear its pension backlog. Therefore, the accumulation of arrears of pension should have been avoided.
4. The Committee recommends for the development of a sustainable model for providing relief to pensioners, including all beneficiaries covered under the Prime Minister’s package. Such a model should ensure long-term financial viability while safeguarding the welfare and entitlements of all concerned pensioners.
5. The meeting was attended by MNAs, Raja Qamar-ul-Islam, Ch. Mahmood Bashir Virk, Mr. Malik Shah, Mr. Naveed Aamir, Mr. Hameed Hussain and Ms. Naeema Kishwer Khan. Secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Member Finance Ministry of Railways, Additional Secretary Ministry of Finance and other senior members of Ministries also attended the meeting.