–16 lawmakers vote in bill’s favour, 29 against it
–Sherry Rehman, Faisal Javed, Azam Swati say increments will be unreasonable in view of economic situation
–Barrister Saif, Usman Kakar say it is difficult for some senators to make ends meet with existing salaries
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday rejected a bill proposing a two-fold increase in the salaries of parliamentarians after 16 lawmakers voted in its favour and 29 against it following an intense debate with special focus on the economic situation of the country.
The Senate will now hold a debate on whether the proposed law classifies as a money bill, in which case, it would be sent to the National Assembly (NA).
The draft Salaries and Allowances Amendment Bill sought an increase in the salaries of Senate chairman and NA speaker from Rs225,000 to Rs879,000 to match the salaries of Supreme Court (SC) judges and a rise in the remuneration of the Senate deputy chairman and NA deputy speaker to match those of high court judges. It also sought to increase the salaries of parliament members from Rs150,000 to Rs300,000.
The bill called for the travel allowance of parliamentarians to be increased to cover the cost of business class air tickets and AC class train tickets. It sought 25 business class tickets to be allocated for each lawmaker and for the option of these tickets being used by the members’ spouses and children to travel within the country to be available.
During Monday’s sitting, the bill was opposed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the two main opposition parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who cited the country’s weak economy as the reason for their stance. However, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) declared their support for the bill.
Speaking on the floor of the House, PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman said that role of the parliament is to fight for the people and given how bad the economic situation is, it would be “tone-deaf of the lawmakers to take a pay raise”.
“Keeping aside whether this bill is a money bill or not, the role of parliament is to fight for the people,” she said.
She also said that her party would reject the bill because they have always worked for the interests of the most downtrodden segment of society.
She further said that while the matter is important and some lawmakers find it difficult to make ends meet as their salaries are the lowest in the region, but the issue should be picked up at another time.
Senators belonging to the ruling PTI also declared their opposition to the bill during the debate as the country’s economic situation did not allow them to accept a pay raise. Senator Faisal Javed said that lawmakers’ salaries would be increased once the country’s economic situation improves.
He said that the timing is not right. “The prime minister has not increased his own salary so the parliamentarians should also get by,” he added.
Azam Swati also expressed his opposition to the bill, saying that despite an economic slowdown, their salaries were not decreased.
MQM-P’s Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, however, supported the bill and said that those who do not wish to take extra money are free to donate it either back to the government or a suitable charity.
PkMAP Senator Usman Khan Kakar said that there were some senators who supported the bill but were playing politics on the issue. Emphasising the need for increasing salaries, he said that parliamentarians were paid less than a BPS-17 officer.
Responding to Swati’s speech, he said that “people like him can afford the expenses of the entire parliament”.
On Sunday, after PTI’s chief whip in Senate Sajjad Hussain Turi had come under fire from all quarters for a bill proposing a 100 per cent increase in the salaries of the lawmakers, he had expressed willingness to withdraw the bill if the government and opposition failed to reach consensus.
Speaking to a local news outlet, the senator said that the ruling party would consult various parties regarding the bill before tabling it in the House on Monday. He said that 85 per cent of the 104 members had agreed in principle to support the bill, however, those opposing the move were simply playing the “numbers game”.
The proposal was not welcomed by every as leaders from the ruling party and the PPP had expressed concerns over the bill. The speaker of the lower house had stated that the proposal was “unreasonable” as the country was still in an economic crisis. Asad Qaiser had said that that the increments should be granted once the treasury is able to withstand the burden.
Planning Minister Asad Umar had also voiced similar concerns and had said that he hoped that media reports regarding the bill were false. He had also said that if there was a margin in the treasury, it should be used to reduce the burden on the people.
