Pakistani parliamentarians set to receive 176% pay rise to match civil servants

A Pakistani parliamentary committee recommended on Saturday that federal lawmakers' monthly salaries be raised to 519,000 rupees ($1,850), matching the pay of senior civil servants after provincial politicians received much higher increases last month.

The House Finance Committee has sent recommendations to the Prime Minister proposing that Members of Parliament's salaries and allowances be made equivalent to those of Federal Secretaries. The committee has specifically recommended setting the monthly salary and benefits of Members of National Assembly (MNAs) and Senators at PKR 519,000 per month.

Following demands from Members of Parliament to increase their salaries and benefits to match those of Punjab Assembly members, the Speaker of the National Assembly has recommended to the Prime Minister that parliamentarians' compensation be made equivalent to that of Federal Secretaries.

National Assembly Spokesperson Zafar Sultan confirmed to Nuktathat following the salary increase for Punjab Assembly members, National Assembly members had been persistently requesting the Speaker for similar raises to their compensation. He noted that members from both the opposition and ruling parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) representatives, supported these demands.

According to Sultan, 200 parliamentarians from both government and opposition benches had submitted written requests to the Speaker asking for their monthly salary to be increased to PKR 1 million. The Speaker rejected this proposal, instead recommending that National Assembly members' salaries and benefits be made equivalent to those of Federal Secretaries.

The National Assembly's House Finance Committee met yesterday under the chairmanship of Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. The committee recommended setting the monthly salary and allowances for MNAs and Senators at PKR 519,000. Speaker Sadiq has forwarded these recommendations to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval.

According to sources familiar with the matter, 67 PTI parliamentarians submitted written requests for salary increases. Members from other parties, including the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), also backed this demand.

The latest proposals would align federal lawmakers' pay with Federal Secretaries, setting it at PKR 519,000 monthly - a more modest increase than requested by the 200 parliamentarians who sought monthly salaries of PKR 1 million.

Provincial salaries higher than federal

Pakistan's federal lawmakers have been pushing for higher compensation amid recent dramatic salary increases for provincial politicians. In December 2024, the Punjab Assembly approved a 426% raise for its members, boosting their monthly salaries from PKR 76,000 to PKR 400,000. Provincial ministers saw even larger gains, with their pay jumping nearly tenfold to PKR 960,000.

Federal parliamentarians currently earn significantly less, with a base monthly salary of PKR 188,000 before allowances. Including all benefits and allowances, federal lawmakers can earn between PKR 392,000 and PKR 452,000 monthly. Committee chairs and senior officials receive additional perks.

The disparity between federal and provincial compensation has been a longstanding issue. In October 2024, MNA Shahida Akhtar Ali highlighted that lawmakers in multiple provinces, including Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh, earned more than their federal counterparts. Balochistan assembly members, for instance, receive between PKR 700,000 and PKR 800,000 monthly.