ISLAMABAD, February 3: Senate on Monday rejected a bill proposing an increase in the salaries of lawmakers, after ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) opposed the bill.
The bill was presented by Naseeb Bazai, Sajjad Tori, Yaqoob Nasir, Dilawar Khan, Ashok Kumar and Shamim Afridi.
29 senators voted against the motion, requests for jacking up salaries of senators and national assembly members both have been rejected.
The bill demanded the salaries of Senate chairman, deputy chairman and NA speaker and deputy speaker equivalent to judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The draft bill seeks an increase in the salaries of Senate chairman and
National Assembly speaker from Rs225,000 to Rs879,000 to match the salaries of Supreme Court judges and a rise in the remuneration of the Senate deputy chairman and National Assembly deputy speaker to match those of high court judges.
The bill also seeks to increase the salaries of members of the parliament from Rs150,000 to Rs300,000. It also calls for the travel allowance of parliamentarians to be increased to cover the cost of business class air tickets and AC class train tickets.
The bill further seeks 25 business class tickets to be allocated for each lawmaker.
Ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) opposed the bill.
Speaking on the floor of the Upper House of the Parliament, PTI Senator Faisal Javed while opposing the bill said that the salaries could not be increased until the economic conditions are improved, adding that the lawmakers should live in the same salary.
He said that the rulers in the past spent tax payers money on their luxuries but Prime Minister Imran Khan didn’t take a pay raise and decreased the expenses of his office.
The PTI senator went on to say that salaries of lawmakers should not be increased unless income of the workers and the peasants increased. – Agencies
