Give me injection enabling me to look rupees as dollars: Pervaiz

ISLAMABAD: Following a heated debate, the Senate Monday rejected motions for bills, proposing an increase in the salaries, allowances and privileges of legislators, including Senate chairman and NA Speaker.

During head count, 16 senators supported and 29 members voted against the bills. Senator Naseebullah Bazai, who moved the motion for tabling of the bills, in protest announced not to move the motion for the third but he was asked to do so, which was also opposed by Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Azam Swati. Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani first went for voice vote and then for head count.

Some opposition senators questioned the logic behind what they called the recent significant increase in the salary of president, ‘which was nearly Rs90,0000’ and asked for details of his input.

There were also claims from treasury and opposition senators that privately, 95 percent supported the bills but in the House, they toed their respective party lines. Even there were suggestions that there should be secret voting on the bills to ascertain what exactly the senators wanted.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the PML-N strongly opposed the bills, while referring to the bleak economic picture. Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, which is PTI’s ally and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Usman Khan Kakar backed the bills.

The draft amendment bill proposes an increase in the salaries of Senate chairman and National Assembly Speaker from Rs225,000 to Rs879,000 and a rise in the salary of Senate deputy chairman and National Assembly deputy speaker.

Likewise, the proposed legislation seeks to increase the salaries of the parliament members from Rs150,000 to Rs300,000. It also called for the travel allowance of parliamentarians to be increased to cover the cost of business class air tickets and AC class train tickets.

The draft bill also envisages 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. As Senator Bazai explained the motive behind the draft bills Minister Swati said if one went by the facts, these should be supported but in view of the economic situation, the House might debate them, however, at the moment, the government could not support such bills.

He also contended that articles 73 and 74 also barred tabling of such bills, relating to the money bill, in the Senate; these could be initiated from the National Assembly. However, Senator Saif said that the bills were not the money bill and referred to the Supreme Court judgement.

“My salary may or may not be increased, but I may be administered an injection, which should show me rupee as a dollar and if that injection is not available, I should have friends, who should spend on me and make me travel on their planes,” retorted Senator Pervaiz Rashid of PML-N while taking part in the debate on the bills.

He continued that when someone becomes a prime minister of a country, he would not have friends or relatives of spouse and children and when his friends would finance his expenditures then the entire nation would have to pay the cost of it, as some opposition senators chanted shame, shame, for he cited the sugar and flour price increases.

PTI Senator Faisal Javed said the timing of the bills was not suitable, as Prime Minister Imran Khan himself had started the austerity drive, reduced substantially the costs of PM Office and his foreign visits, unlike the previous rulers. “These bills be put on hold till the time, the economic situation improves to a desired level,” he noted.

PkMAP Senator Usman Kakar said that the majority of senators was in favour of increase but some were also doing politics. He pointed out that there was a bid to force parliamentarians to resort to corruption to meet their expenses and added that some lawyers earned Rs10 million a month and did not wish to become judges, while judges and generals salaries were quite hefty and same was the case with top officers of government and autonomous bodies.

“We should not be degraded this way, whereas government officers are drawing much more than us. Many of us don’t have any other activity than politics and total reliance is on our salary as lawmakers,” he noted. He advised media not to guide the lawmakers, as many of them had Rs6 million monthly package while an ordinary anchor pocketed Rs2 million and they had been raising hue and cry over these bills.

Dr Asif Kirmani of PML-N came hard on the PTI government and alleged that people were befooled in the name of tall claims while the economy had been ruined. He claimed people had now started looting grocery shops out of price hike and joblessness. He questioned the logic of Rs3.5-4 million salary of PCB boos. He also wondered what was the president’s contribution that he was given raise of lakhs. “If people are not given relief, they will one day take to streets and then no residence will be spared,” he warned.

PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman said that considering Pakistan's current economic situation, it would be totally unjustified for the country's lawmakers to take a pay raise. "This is a very important matter. However, the PPP will reject this bill," she said. She emphasised the role of the Parliament was to push for maximum relief to masses. “PPP has always strived in the interests of the most downtrodden segments of society. Recognising the fact that the salaries of lawmakers in Pakistan are the lowest in the region, we also understand that there are certain senators, who do not have another source of income and find it difficult to make ends meet. However, this matter should be picked up at another time," she said.

However, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif maintained that those lawmakers who did not wish to take the extra money, they might not have to so. "They are free to donate the money either back to the government or to a suitable charity as they see fit," he added.

PPP Senator A Rehman Malik strongly opposed the bills and recalled that there was a pay commission in the era of PM Liaquat Ali Khan and called for commission to assess, determine and revise salaries of government employees. He said the parliamentarians salaries be cut so as to encourage the poor.

Leader of Opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq said the government and opposition senators agreed that the life of the common had become very difficult because of inflation and price hike. He called on the government to first give relief to the hard pressed masses.

PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan lamented that the much-needed subsidies on key kitchen items had been withdrawn in an effort to show to IMF that the economic situation had improved. He noted that there had to be a fundamental principle on salary increases and wondered how the president’s salary had been increased to almost Rs90,0000, whereas the pension of judges was Rs80,0000. He noted that crime and acts of terrorism had increased owing to joblessness and inflation and made it clear that Pakistan was not a social welfare state.

JI senators Sirajul Haq and Mushtaq Ahmad also strongly opposed the bills Senator Abdul Qayyum called for rationalisation of salaries and said the salary of the president should be reduced by 50 percent and proposed reviewing pension of war veterans, as many received mere Rs5000-6000 per month.

The National Party Senator Mir Kabeer Shahi said that while they always spoke for the relief of others but could not even speak on the issue of their own salary increase.