ISLAMABAD: Brushing aside criticism over a proposed increase in their salaries, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a major raise for parliamentarians.
Although the raise amounts to an around 300 per cent increase, the government has justified it by comparing it with the salaries being drawn by federal secretaries.
A source in the National Assembly Secretariat told Dawn that National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had notified the raise, following the prime minister’s approval.
It has also been learnt that parliamentarians have received their revised salary for the month of January.
Despite their political rivalries, members of treasury and opposition benches had shown rare unity on the issue of increase in their salaries and other perks during a recently held meeting of the National Assembly’s Finance Committee.
The committee, headed by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, approved the proposed increase of monthly salary of each MNA and senator to Rs519,000.
Previously, lawmakers received monthly salary of Rs180,000. It was learnt that actually Rs1million monthly salary was proposed for parliamentarians, but the NA speaker turned down the proposal but agreed on raising it to Rs519,000.
Provincial legislators’ pay
The committee was informed that even after the raise, the salary of MNAs and senators would be less than that of a member of the provincial assembly.
Sources in the National Assembly Secretariat told Dawn that before the meeting of the finance committee, legislators hailing from all mainstream parties including PPP, PTI and PML-N had met Speaker Sadiq and asked for a raise in their salaries while drawing a comparison between their pay and the salary of an MPA.
The committee was apprised that salaries of parliamentarians had not been increased for last seven years.
