PM urges swift rollout of digital payments to boost transparency
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for the rapid implementation of a nationwide digital transaction system and said that it is essential to ensure transparency and modernise Pakistan's economy.
Chairing a weekly meeting on the development of a cashless and digital economy at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday, Shehbaz emphasised on the need to facilitate digital payments between citizens and businesses, and to promote public awareness of digital platforms.
'The digital system is vital to improve transparency and must be implemented countrywide,' he said.
He directed the three newly formed committees the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee and the Government Payments Committee to collaborate closely with stakeholders and submit actionable recommendations.
The digital system is vital to improve transparency and must be implemented countrywide
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
The prime minister was briefed that the State Bank of Pakistan is preparing a simplified digital payment strategy to onboard more merchants and expand mobile adoption.
Read: Cashless economy a necessity for fiscal resilience: FinMin
Targets include increasing mobile app users from 95 million to 120m, and the number of merchants using QR codes from 0.9m to 2m. The total volume of digital payments is projected to grow from Rs7.5 billion to Rs12b.
Shehbaz instructed that these targets should be doubled to accelerate progress.
Officials informed the meeting that the 'Digital National Pakistan' initiative is underway, and the Islamabad City mobile app has already recorded 1.3m downloads. Through the app, Rs15.5b has been collected under the ICT excise and taxation department.
The government is also advancing the Digital Pakistan ID project and e-stamping services will soon launch in Islamabad.
Plans are in place to extend free Wi-Fi services across Islamabad in hospitals, schools, offices, parks and metro stations.
Shehbaz directed that these digital services be extended to federal areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The meeting was attended by Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Advisor Dr Tauqir Shah and Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, along with other senior officials.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Salaried class paid Rs555b in FY24
Listen to article Salaried individuals have paid a staggering Rs555 billion in income tax in the last fiscal year, which were Rs188 billion more than the preceding year and also 100% more than the combined taxes paid by retailers and real estate sector. The record-high contributions by people, who pay income tax on the gross salaries without having the luxury to adjust their expenses, substantially reduced the home-take salaries of a larger segment of society. According to provisional figures compiled by the Federal Board of Revenue, the salaried persons paid Rs555 billion in income tax during the fiscal year 2024-25. The unwilling contributions were 51% or Rs188 billion more than the taxes collected from the salaried persons in the preceding fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2023-24, the government had collected Rs367 billion from the salaried persons. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had phenomenally increased the tax burden of the salaried class and claimed it would generate only Rs75 billion in additional income taxes. The highest ever contributions by the salaried persons in a single year showed how the voiceless people have been discriminated against the powerful sectors of the country. Last month, the government marginally reduced the tax burden of the people earning up to Rs3.2 million annually, which it said would give them a benefit of Rs56 billion. This nominal benefit of Rs56 billion compared to the current contributions is like a drop in the bucket, which would not address the fiscal woes of the salaried individuals. Despite putting enormous burden on the salaried class, the FBR missed its annual collection target by a margin of around Rs1.2 trillion. The details showed that non-corporate sector employees paid Rs236.5 billion income tax in the last fiscal year, which is higher by Rs67 billion or 40%. Corporate sector employees paid Rs165 billion in income tax, also higher by Rs54.6 billion or 49%. Employees of the provincial governments paid Rs99.5 billion in taxes, which was up by Rs49 billion or 98%. The federal government employees paid Rs54.2 billion, higher by Rs17 billion or 45%. Total income tax payments during the last fiscal year were Rs5.8 trillion and the salaried class paid Rs1 out of every Rs10 collected from the entire country under the head of income tax. In contrast to Rs555 billion paid by the salaried persons, the retailers, mostly unregistered, have contributed only Rs38 billion on account of withholding income tax on their purchases. The amount of tax that traders paid under section 236-H was 1,360% less than taxes paid by salaried persons. Besides, wholesalers and distributors also paid Rs25 billion withholding tax in the last fiscal year and almost half of them were unregistered with the FBR, said the sources. PM Sharif could not live up to his promise of collecting due taxes from the retailers. The Tajir Dost scheme failed to yield desired results and the government has not announced any new measure in the budget to bring the retailers in the tax net. Its biggest enforcement measure to ban the economic transactions by ineligible persons has become effectively useless after the government exempted more than 90% transactions from the purview of the new law. The government has allowed the ineligible persons, those having not enough declared resources, to buy up to Rs7 million worth of a car, Rs50 million worth plot and Rs100 million commercial property. In the budget, the government had imposed 2.5% withholding tax on traders, in the hope that this would force them to come into the tax system. Though the increase in the rate did help collect Rs21 billion more from the traders, the intended objective could not be achieved. The traders passed on the cost of the additional tax to the end consumers. In the last budget, the government had also substantially increased the tax burden of the real estate sector by increasing the rates for the non-filers and also introducing a new category of late filers in the budget. As a result, during the last fiscal year, the government collected Rs237 billion on sales and purchase of properties. This helped increase collection by 19% compared to the previous fiscal year but it was still below the mark. The combined taxes paid by both retailers and the real estate sector were 100% less than the total contributions by the salaried persons. On the sale of properties, the government collected Rs119 billion on account of withholding taxes, which were one-fourth more than the preceding fiscal year. On the purchases of the plots, the government collected another Rs118 billion, also higher by 14%. In the new budget, the government has abolished the federal excise duty on the real estate sector. The net taxes on the sales and purchases remained unchanged, although the government shifted higher burden towards the sellers by increasing their withholding tax rates.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Digital transactions to ensure transparent economy: PM
Listen to article Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed implementing the digital transaction system across the country, saying it was vital to bring transparency to the economy. He was chairing a weekly meeting on cashless and digital economy at the Prime Minister's House. On the occasion, the prime minister emphasized the need to facilitate payments between citizens and businesses and to raise awareness about the use of digital systems. He instructed the committees formed for the cashless economy to work closely with all stakeholders to present doable recommendations. During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed that following the previous meeting, the Digital Payments Innovation and Adoption Committee, the Digital Public Infrastructure Committee, and the Government Payments Committee had been established. A detailed briefing was given in the meeting with respect to the committee's proposals and strategies regarding the digitization of the economy. It was informed that the State Bank of Pakistan was developing a strategy to simplify and ease digital payment methods for merchants. A simplified package will be introduced to encourage and include small businesses in digital payments. The target is to increase the number of mobile app users for digital payments from 95 million to 120 million, and the number of merchants using QR codes will be increased from 0.9 million to 2 million. The total volume of digital payments is aimed to increase from Rs 7.5 billion to Rs 12 billion. The prime minister directed that all these targets should be doubled. The meeting was further informed that the "Digital National Pakistan" project for the digital economy had been initiated. The Islamabad City mobile application has so far recorded 1.3 million downloads, offering 15 services. Through the Islamabad City App, Rs 15.5 billion has been collected under ICT Excise and Taxation, the meeting was informed. Work is progressing rapidly on the completion of the Digital Pakistan ID project, while E-stamping facilities will also be launched in Islamabad soon. The meeting was further informed that efforts were underway to provide Wi-Fi internet services across Islamabad, particularly in hospitals, educational institutions, government offices, parks, and metro bus lines. The prime minister instructed that all these facilities should also be introduced in all federal areas, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. The meeting was attended by Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Shaza Fatima, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Prime Minister's Advisor Dr. Tauqir Shah, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, and other senior government officials. Polio case Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stressing accelerated efforts to eradicate polio from the country, on Thursday expressed the resolve that despite all challenges and difficulties, the government, with the support of international, provincial, and local teams, will soon achieve the goal of a polio-free Pakistan. "We are committed to protect every child in Pakistan from this crippling disease and achieve a polio-free Pakistan," the prime minister said while chairing a meeting of the Anti-Polio Task Force here. He stressed the need for full dedication and seriousness to ensure that every child across the country receives multiple doses of the polio vaccine and remains protected. The prime minister acknowledged significant progress in the fight against polio due to the dedication of frontline workers, the commitment of the government of Pakistan, and support from the partners. He praised the efforts and cooperation of provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and law enforcement agencies in the anti-polio campaign. "The safety of polio workers is our top priority," he said adding that all stakeholders, including provincial governments, must unite and intensify their efforts to eradicate polio. The prime minister expressed gratitude to all partners supporting the government in its polio eradication efforts. He extended special thanks to Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, for his comprehensive support of Pakistan's polio eradication efforts. The prime minister also appreciated the vital and commendable role of the Gates Foundation and all partners in the anti-polio campaign in Pakistan. During the briefing, it was informed in the meeting that specific polio campaigns were being designed for each district in Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, based on the unique challenges faced in each area, to ensure complete eradication of the polio virus. The anti-polio campaign in Pakistan is not only targeting polio cases among children but also working to eliminate the virus's environmental presence. The meeting was attended by the chair of the Anti-Polio Oversight Board, Dr. Christopher Elias, who is also the President of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Besides members of the Board Dr. Hanan Balkhy — Regional Director, World Health Organization (WHO), Sanjay Wijesekera — Regional Director, UNICEF, Dr. Ziad Memish — Representative of KS Relief, Saudi Arabia, Mike McGovern — Rotary International and Aziz Memon, Trustee, Rotary International also attended the meeting. Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal, Minister of State for National Health Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, PM's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, Chief Secretaries from all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Chief Commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory, National Coordinator for Polio Eradication and other senior government officials were also present in the meeting.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Mobile internet gender gap further reduced
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's mobile internet gender gap has reduced from 38 per cent to 25 per cent - marking a major step forward in the country's digital gender inclusion efforts. Women's mobile internet usage has also increased from 33 per cent to 45 per cent, according to the latest GSMA report. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja during second meeting of the Steering Committee on Digital Gender Inclusion in Islamabad, where a detailed review of the implementation progress of the Digital Gender Inclusion Strategy was conducted, said that building a gender-inclusive digital society is at the heart of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's digital vision. Highlighting another key success, she shared that under the Prime Minister's Ramadan Package, a pilot project of digital wallets for 800,000 women was successfully executed. She said the initiative had brought visible improvements in financial inclusion and women's empowerment. Khawaja directed that all sub-committees and departments of the IT Ministry must submit quarterly reports on the implementation of the strategy. 'Our KPIs must be based on outcomes, with clear deadlines for every goal,' she emphasised. She added that increased gender-related budgetary allocations are essential for bringing real change. 'This is not just about policies or meetings. When a woman is empowered, it doesn't just change her life—it transforms the lives of entire families,' she said. The PTA chairman also participated in the meeting and was commended by the minister as a 'champion of gender inclusivity.' The PTA appreciated the role of the Secretariat and described its performance as exemplary. Representatives from UNESCO, PTA, GSMA, GDIP, ISOC, EPIC, NCHR, NCSW, Jazz, LUMS, HEC, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and the Ministry of Federal Education were also present. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
