ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved up to 150 percent increase in salaries of the prime minister, federal ministers, ministers of state, members of the National Assembly, its speaker and deputy speakers, members of Senate, its chairman and deputy chairman.
Though the salary of the prime minister has also been enhanced, he would be drawing less salary than the NA speaker and Senate chairman. The cabinet approved revision of basic pay of some public officeholders and members of parliament after 13 years.
State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, who attended the cabinet meeting in her incumbent capacity for the first time, termed the increase of salaries ‘insufficient’ compared with expenditure.
She said the government employees are entitled to have an increase in their salaries annually. The members of the NA belonging to all shades of views had been pressing the government for enhancing their allowances and salaries for many months.
Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar assured the NA in July last that he would review the salaries on the return of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from London where he was then undergoing cardiac treatment.
The cabinet accordingly approved the increase on Wednesday and it would be applicable from October 1 retrospectively. The members would get the arrears with the next month’s salary. Interestingly, salaries of members of the Balochistan Assembly are still higher than what has been approved for the National Assembly and Senate. The day the cabinet approved the increase in salaries, the sitting of the NA was adjourned in the evening due to lack of quorum.
The member of NA who was drawing Rs 61,000 monthly would be entitled to get Rs 150,000 every month now. The NA speaker and Senate chairman’s salary has been fixed at Rs 250,000 after an increase from Rs 162,000.
The NA deputy speaker and Senate deputy chairman would be entitled to draw Rs 185,000 in place of Rs 150,000 per month. A federal minister would be given Rs 250,000 while a minister of state would get Rs 180,000 every month.
Some members of the cabinet proposed that the package of salaries should be even higher than what has been approved but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif didn’t support the idea, the sources said. The cabinet, at its meeting in Islamabad, considered a twenty point agenda including draft agreements with some friendly countries for cooperation in different sectors.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired the meeting. Later, briefing newsmen, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said the cabinet approved increase in salaries of lawmakers.
She said the increase takes care of inflation and incorporates ad hoc relief announced in previous years. It would be effective from first of October this year and its annual impact would be Rs 400 million.
She said despite increase, the salaries of MPs would be less than those of the members of the Balochistan Assembly. She said the prime minister formed a committee, headed by Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, to propose amendments in Pepra rules to update them and make them transparent.
Members of the committee include Federal Ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Zahid Hamid and Qadir Baloch besides the finance secretary. The minister of state said the cabinet empowered Ministry of Health to procure vaccine for immunisation without following Pepra rules but with the prior approval of Unicef and the government. It would make the rules more transparent. The committee would present its report within a month, she added.
The issuance of NOC for Indian origin medicines and approval of the cabinet to start negotiations on bilateral agreement between Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the field of disaster management were also approved as they were on the agenda of the meeting.
The meeting gave approval for signing of the draft memorandum of understanding between Pakistan and South Africa on defence and defence industrial cooperation and MoU between Pakistan and Malaysian anti-corruption commission for strengthening cooperation in preventing and combating corruption.
The Cabinet discussed and approved MoUs and agreements with different countries in various fields. The confirmation of the decisions taken by the cabinet committee on restructuring in its meeting held on 11th of this month was also made by the federal cabinet.
The minister said the cabinet also approved empowering the Health Ministry to import vaccine for immunisation and anti TB medicines in emergency situations. Moreover, she added, the cabinet gave approval to nine agreements signed with six countries, including Azerbaijan, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Maldives and Malaysia.
The agreements were on issues of disaster management, cooperation in defence sector, cooperation in information technology, combating corruption and exchange and training of medical practitioners. She said the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet were also approved and it was decided that the ECC decisions would be circulated to all the ministries. The minister said the cabinet also discussed the issue of Afghan refugees’ repatriation and it was decided that by December 2017 they would have to leave Pakistan.
