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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday lauded the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for achieving a record 5.9 million income tax returns and adding nearly a million new taxpayers this year, describing it as a sign of growing public confidence in the system, according to a statement circulated by his office.

The FBR, which is responsible for revenue generation and meeting tax targets, announced a “significant increase” in income tax return filings a day earlier, saying 5.9 million tax returns had been submitted by the end of October compared to five million in the same period last year, a 17.6 percent rise.

Out of these, 3.6 million taxpayers filed returns with tax payments, reflecting an 18.6 percent increase over 2024.

“The addition of 900,000 new tax filers to the network reflects citizens’ confidence in the government’s policies,” the statement quoted the prime minister as saying. “By the grace of God, the reforms in the tax system are yielding positive results.”

Sharif said merit had been prioritized within the FBR, adding that capable officers were being encouraged while poor performers were discouraged under a new performance-based culture.

He maintained that tax procedures had also been simplified, and automation at ports had helped curb corruption and improve efficiency.

“I personally chaired weekly meetings to oversee the FBR’s digital transformation,” he said, adding that efforts to formalize the economy through an expansion in point-of-sale registrations had curbed sales tax evasion.

The prime minister also pointed to a Rs9 billion ($31.8 million) year-on-year increase in tax revenues, calling it “clear proof” of the government’s reform agenda.

In a string of social media posts a day earlier, the FBR said the rise in return filings marked “a new milestone in voluntary compliance and taxpayer awareness.”

It added that individual taxpayers had paid nearly Rs69 billion ($244 million) in income tax this year, up from Rs60 billion ($212 million) in 2024, a 15 percent increase.

The FBR attributed the surge to a nationwide outreach campaign, involving robocalls, WhatsApp messages, and targeted reminders encouraging citizens to file on time.

It also reiterated its commitment to creating a fair, transparent and inclusive tax system. 

KARACHI: At least 43 farmers from Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have issued formal legal notices to German energy giant RWE and cement-producer Heidelberg Materials, claiming €1 million in compensation for losses suffered during catastrophic floods in 2022, trade union officials said on Saturday.

The notices, dispatched on Oct. 28 and serving as a precursor to legal action planned for Dec. unless a settlement is reached, represent one of the first attempts by agriculturalists in Pakistan to hold major international carbon-emitting firms accountable for climate-driven damage.

Pakistan ranks among countries most vulnerable to climate change, despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, the country witnessed deadly floods that killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused more than 30 billion losses.

Pakistani officials have said that they had to take loans to rebuild areas devastated by adverse weather phenomena, lamenting a lack of cooperation by heavily industrialized, developed nations which they say have exacerbated the climate crisis in the world.

“The farmers from Sindh have sent a legal notice to RWE and Heidelberg to pay fair share of compensation of what we estimate as €1 million in damages,” said Nasir Mansoor, general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) in Pakistan.

The farmers are based in Jacobabad, Dadu and Larkana districts of Sindh, a region among the hardest hit in the 2022 floods.

Speaking at a press conference this week, farmers, civil-society representatives and their legal counsel outlined the basis of their €1 million claim, saying RWE and Heidelberg Materials had been significant contributors to human-induced climate change.

“RWE and Heidelberg have known for decades that their polluting practices would bring harm to people, yet they have refused to act,” Clara Gonzales of the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) addressed press conference.

The NTUF and local non-government organization HANDS Welfare Foundation, which have worked with Sindh farmers since 2010, as well as the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) are backing the claimants, emphasizing that legal action marks an emerging front in global climate-justice litigation.

Neither RWE nor Heidelberg Materials responded to Arab News’ requests for comment by the time of this story’s publication. RWE is one of Europe’s largest electricity producers, while Heidelberg Materials is a leading cement manufacturer globally, both identified in “carbon majors” studies as significant historical emitters.

“Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the political disaster has turned into a climate disaster,” said Karin Zennig, a climate-justice campaigner at the Medico International aid agency.

“Entire regions of the world are still experiencing substantial destruction to their livelihoods. Those least responsible for the climate crisis are struggling to survive, as we can see in Pakistan.”

‘DREAMS WENT UNDER WITH THE WATER’

Inayat Laghari, one of the claimants who is a farmer in Khairpur Nathan Shah, said his entire 12-acre rice crop was destroyed in the 2022 floods, followed by a failed wheat harvest.

“It wasn’t just a crop that was lost; it was our children’s needs, their dreams, and our livelihood for the whole year that went under with the water,” he said.

A father of eight children, including three daughters, Laghari also lost multiple cows and goats to the catastrophic deluges.

“My cousin, Asyia, couldn’t cope with her loss, she passed away from the shock,” he said, recalling the toll the disaster took on his extended family.

“The foundations of the climate crisis that caused this catastrophe were laid by big corporations. They should be the ones to compensate us for our losses.”

The legal notice sent to RWE and Heidelberg Materials seeks acknowledgment of liability and payment of what the claimants describe as their “fair share” of damages. Lawyers acting for the farmers estimate the total damages at about €1 million and say the December timeline will see the case filed in court if no settlement is reached.

Ghulam Ullah from the village of Deed Sharif in Dadu is among the landowners who suffered losses and is now one of the claimants. A father of four sons and four daughters, he had cultivated rice on 24 acres, cotton on 12 acres, and chili on 2 acres, all of which were not only destroyed in the floods but also could not be replanted the following year. He also suffered heavy losses of livestock.

“The floods took everything from us,” he told Arab News. “It is our right that we be compensated for our losses.”