500% pay raise? Pakistan PM takes notice, but only after approval

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “took notice” of a massive salary hike on Thursday for top parliament and Cabinet members — but only after the raises were officially notified.

The salaries of the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker, as well as the Senate chairman and deputy chairman, were quietly bumped up by a jaw-dropping 500%.

According to reports, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani will now receive a monthly salary of PKR 1.3 million ($4,600), a jump from PKR 205,000.

This follows a similar increase in May, when federal ministers and ministers of state saw their paychecks grow by more than 140%, with salaries jumping from PKR 200,000 ($700) to over PKR 500,000 ($1780). They were backdated to January 1.

For now, the Prime Minister’s Office has released a statement saying Sharif has “taken notice” of the salary raises of Gillani, Sadiq, Deputy Senate Chairman Syedaal Khan Nasir, and Deputy National Assembly Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah.

Sharif has reportedly sought a report from the Speaker and Chairman to explain the raises.

But here’s the kicker: Why did the prime minister only take notice after the raises were formalized? Was the government machinery moving without his knowledge? Or was it simply caught in the act?

Nukta decided to dig deeper.

Sources in the Prime Minister Office revealed that Sharif was well aware of the increases all along. But growing criticism from within the party, federal ministers, and coalition allies reportedly pushed him into taking "notice".

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, a senior PML-N leader, on Thursday minced no words, calling the pay raise a “financial extravagance.”

Sources say it was Asif who finally shook the prime minister and urged action.

So, if not the prime minister, who approved the raises?

Enter President Asif Ali Zardari.

In May, Zardari issued an ordinance amending the 1975 Salaries and Privileges Act, creating pay parity between federal ministers, ministers of state, and members of Parliament.

Parliament was in recess at the time, which is why the president stepped in with an ordinance.

So, who’s really in favor of the hikes? Nukta correspondent in Islamabad says pretty much everyone, except a few who dared to write dissenting notes or, like Khawaja Asif, speak out publicly.