Islamabad:
The National Assembly, despite the fierce protests of PTI legislators, approved on Tuesday a bill that increases salaries and benefits for parliamentarians through a majority vote.
The Finance Committee of the National Assembly, led by Na Ayaz Sadiq, approved the proposed increase in the monthly salary of each MNA and Senator to RS519,000. Previously, legislators received RS180,000 per month.
The legislation, which aims to amend the law of members of Parliament (wages and assignments), 1974 [The Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill, 2025]It has already been approved by the Senate.
Previously, the session descended to chaos when PTI legislators organized a vociferous protest, singing slogans, creating a fuss and pointing out quorum problems, forcing a postponement before the agenda could be completed.
Na’s opposition leader, Omar Ayub Khan, took advantage of his expected opportunity to raise a point of order, launching the government for the alleged political victimization of the opposition.
Ayub accused the former Army Chief, General, Gen qamar Javed Bajwa, to intentionally avoid the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the elections, arguing that his presence would have made it impossible to manipulate the results in favor of the current government.
When addressing the delays in the formation of a parliamentary committee for the appointment of the main election commissioner, the president of NA, SADIQ, clarified that the letters had already been sent to both the government and the opposition parties. The committee, he said, would be as soon as nominations were received.
However, he made an exception to the comments of a judge of the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) questioning the effectiveness of Parliament, warning that such statements were an absolute assault on the authority of the institution.
“No one has the right to undermine the dignity of Parliament,” he said, promising that the holiness of the legislature would not be compromised under any circumstance.
His strong rebuke occurred in response to judicial comments regarding the roles of the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature.
The president of NA, Sadiq, said that, although the Judiciary and the Executive were pillars of the State, the derogatory statements about the relevance of Parliament are unacceptable.
“We will not tolerate any attack on the credibility of this institution,” he said, defending the supremacy of the legislature.
The session already heated when the law minister, Azam Nazeer, Tarar rose to respond to the accusations of the opposition leader.
PTI legislators exploded immediately in protest, standing in their seats, hitting desks and destroying copies of the agenda before throwing them through the camera.
In response to their songs, marking the Assembly as a “false Parliament,” Tarar replied, saying: “If you call it false, you put it in writing and stop taking wages.”
Despite the uproar, Romina Khurshid Alam, coordinator of the Prime Minister on Climate Change, managed to present members of the Salary and Assignments Law (amendment) 2025 that was quickly approved by a majority.
