During a recent budget session, the Senate made a significant move by passing a bill that mandates government servants from BPS-17 to BPS-22 to reveal their domestic and foreign assets, as well as those of their family members.

The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was presented for immediate consideration and approval by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. This bill, which has already been approved by the National Assembly, is expected to become law once it receives the president's assent.

Mr. Tarar highlighted that Pakistan had committed to various international organizations to enact this law before June 30. Organizations like Transparency International and Amnesty International have emphasized the importance of asset disclosure to combat corruption effectively.

Under this new legislation, civil servants in higher grades will be required to digitally submit declarations of their assets, including those owned by themselves or their immediate family members. These declarations will be made available on the respective departments' websites.

In addition to this bill, the Senate also discussed two other important pieces of legislation. One of these bills aims to eliminate the death penalty for certain offenses, such as publicly denuding a woman and harboring hijackers.

Law Minister Tarar clarified that the proposed amendment seeks to remove the death penalty for crimes that are not considered severe in nature. The bill focuses on amending specific sections of the Pakistan Penal Code to reflect these changes.

Another bill, the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Amendment Bill 2025, faced opposition from the PTI and was referred to the standing committee on law. This bill, introduced by PML-N Senator Khalil Tahir Sandhu, aims to regulate the expenditures on bar councils' elections and restrict candidacy to practicing lawyers.

Despite objections from the opposition, the bill was brought up during the budget discussion, sparking concerns about the transparency and fairness of the legislative process.