Khawaja Asif, a seasoned figure within the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), sharply criticized the dramatic increase in parliamentary officeholders’ salaries and benefits on Wednesday, labelling it a “financial obscenity,” as reported by The News.
The defense minister expressed his dismay on X (formerly Twitter): “The massive increase in the salaries and financial perks of the (National Assembly) speaker, deputy speaker, Senate chairperson, and deputy chairperson falls under the category of financial obscenity. Please keep the life of the common man in mind — our honour and dignity are all owed to him (common man).”
The government has approved a more than five-fold increase in the salaries of the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairperson, raising them to Rs1.3 million per month. According to news reports, these officials will also receive a sumptuary allowance equivalent to half of their revised salary, amounting to Rs 650,000.
Asif’s post on X elicited a mixed bag of reactions, drawing both commendation and sarcastic remarks. While some lauded the PML-N leader’s bold stance against the government’s decision, others dismissed it as merely symbolic, given his prominent position within the ruling coalition.
Social media users were quick to highlight that the budget presented by the PML-N government had not included any increase in the minimum wage, criticizing the government’s apparent unwillingness to provide substantial relief to ordinary citizens.
Conversely, officials with knowledge of the situation have indicated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the salary increases for the Senate chairman, deputy chairman, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker. They stated that following the widespread social media backlash against the substantial increment, the prime minister has requested a report from the NA speaker and Senate chairman.
It is noteworthy that the federal cabinet had already given its approval for this salary hike.
The day after the government unveiled the federal budget, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb defended the salary increases for parliamentarians, ministers, and the custodians of the National Assembly and Senate.
“Look at when the salaries of ministers, ministers of state, and parliamentarians were last increased. The last increase in the salaries of cabinet ministers was in 2016,” Aurangzeb remarked during a press conference on Wednesday.
It has come to light that the Senate chairman and the National Assembly speaker themselves were instrumental in deciding their own salary increments.
The salary raises for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman were approved by the Senate’s House Finance Committee, while the National Assembly’s House Finance Committee sanctioned the increases for the NA speaker and deputy speaker.
Sources familiar with the developments revealed that Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani presided over a meeting of the House Finance Committee a few months ago, and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq similarly chaired a meeting of the NA’s House Finance Committee. In these separate deliberations, the decision to increase the salaries of these four individuals was discreetly made.
However, these sources clarified that the government has no involvement in the internal affairs of the National Assembly and Senate. While the government provides the budget to both houses of parliament, the National Assembly and Senate retain autonomy in the utilization of these funds. By law, the prime minister is prohibited from interfering in the affairs of the lower and upper houses of parliament.
