Grade 17 to 22 Officers' Assets to Go Public, IMF Told

The federal government has told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the assets of senior government officers in Grade 17 to Grade 22 will be declared and shown on an official government website. The briefing was given in Islamabad on Monday, September 28, 2026, on the first day of formal talks for the fourth review of Pakistan's $7 billion loan programme.

Officials from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Establishment Division and the Finance Division explained the plan to the IMF team. The Secretary Establishment Division and the Secretary Finance Division also took part. They told the IMF that a new part of the law, Section 15-A of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, now allows the government to monitor and control the financial conduct of its officers.

There is one important detail, though. The full asset records will not be made public. Only selected parts will go online, and the government says this is because of security concerns.

What officers must do by October 30

All federal officers in Grade 17 and above must now file their income and asset details online through a special FBR portal. The old paper system has ended. The deadline for the financial year 2025-26 is October 30, 2026. Officers can correct mistakes until November 30, 2026, but only with approval from their cadre administrator, which is the office that manages their service group.

The process is simple. First, the officer gives his or her name, designation, email address, mobile number and CNIC to the cadre administrator. The administrator sends these details to the FBR, which opens an account and informs the officer by email or SMS. The officer then logs in with the CNIC and a one-time password, sets a new password and fills in the "Declaration" form.

The form asks for a lot. Officers must list agricultural, residential and commercial property, with its location, value and the date it was bought. They must also show bank accounts, shares, mutual funds, prize bonds, vehicles and other valuable items. Assets of the spouse and dependent family members are included, and so are assets held inside and outside Pakistan.

How the FBR will check the data

After an officer submits the form, the FBR will run risk-based checks. In simple words, the system will look more closely at cases that seem unusual. The results will go to the officer's cadre administrator. If something does not match, the Establishment Division can start disciplinary action against the officer.

In May this year, a Senate committee was told that a computer system using artificial intelligence would warn officials if an officer's wealth grows in an unusual way. Senior FBR officials would then have the power to start an inquiry. The committee was also told that officers would have to share details of their foreign visits.

Even before this, the FBR changed its rules in late 2025 so that banks could see the asset declarations of senior public servants. This helps banks watch for money laundering. That rule covers Grade 17 and above officers in federal and provincial governments, autonomous bodies and state-owned companies.

Why only part of the data will be public

On September 24, Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that full declarations will not be published because of security concerns. He said selected information will go public by December to meet the IMF condition. The Establishment Division has said these non-sensitive parts will appear on the FBR website.

Some committee members were not satisfied. They asked why officers should be treated differently when politicians, including the president and the prime minister, must make full asset declarations. Mr Bosal did not directly answer this objection. He only said that a lot of technical work had been done by the Establishment Division and the FBR.

When the federal cabinet first approved the law in February 2025, officials said private details such as CNIC numbers, home addresses, bank account numbers and prize bond numbers would be protected. The government has not yet shared the final list of exactly what the public will be able to see.

A long road under IMF pressure

This change did not come overnight. The cabinet approved adding Section 15-A to the Civil Servants Act in February 2025, after the IMF refused to soften its demand on asset disclosure. The National Assembly then passed the amendment, and the President approved the Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2025 in July 2025.

In March 2026, after the third review of the loan, Pakistan gave the IMF a written promise to publish the asset declarations of high-level federal officers by the end of December 2026. The IMF made this a structural benchmark, which means a formal target Pakistan must meet under the loan deal. In the same package, Pakistan also promised to make the National Accountability Bureau more independent by January 2027, through a clearer way of choosing its chairman.

What it means for Pakistan

For ordinary citizens, this could be a rare chance to see the wealth of the officers who run government offices, approve contracts and shape policy. Public records can make it harder to hide money made through corruption. But as the lawmakers pointed out, the reform will only be as strong as the details that are actually shown. That will become clear only when the first records go online.

The asset briefing was one part of wider talks. At the same meetings, the FBR told the IMF it expects to meet its tax target of Rs3.053 trillion for July to September, even though it missed the August target by Rs28 billion. It also said about 4.7 million income tax returns had been filed for Tax Year 2026 so far, compared with 3.2 million at the same time last year.

Two dates now matter most. October 30 is the last date for officers to file, and December 31, 2026 is the deadline agreed with the IMF to publish the declarations. The fourth review talks are still going on, and a successful review would help Pakistan receive the next part of its IMF loan.