ISLAMABAD – All government claims of austerity have been rendered meaningless as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a more than 200% increase in the salaries and perks of parliamentarians.
According to details, despite the federal government’s acknowledgment of the country’s economic situation, all austerity measures were disregarded. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the pay increase for members of parliament based on the recommendations of the National Assembly and Senate finance committees.
Parliamentary sources revealed that after the Prime Minister’s approval, the salary increase for members of the National Assembly and Senate will take effect from January 1, 2025.
Starting this month, each member will receive a salary of Rs519,000. However, the salaries of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly have not been increased and will remain at Rs218,000 per month.
According to the Speaker’s office, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker’s salaries cannot be raised by the finance committee, as they are in line with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate.
Sources further noted that parliamentarians were previously receiving a salary of Rs150,000 along with Rs38,000 in other allowances. It is worth mentioning that both opposition and government members had called for the pay raise in the finance committee, and the committee sent its recommendations to the Speaker of the National Assembly, who then forwarded them to the Prime Minister for final approval.
