Senate also passes bill to raise MPs salaries

ISLAMABAD: After the National Assembly, the Senate on Monday passed the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill 2025 to raise salaries of members of Parliament.

Now a member of the Senate would be drawing over half a million rupees emolument package. The private members bill, piloted by Senator Danesh Kumar, was earlier adopted by the Senate last month and transmitted to the National Assembly, which also passed it with minor amendments recently, and the House had to consider and adopt the amended piece of legislation.

According to the text of the bill, an amendment had been proposed to section 14B of the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) Act 1974, according to which, after the word ‘Secretariat’ the expression ‘and Finance Committee of the Senate, as the case may be,’ would be inserted and the words ‘in proportion to the increase in the emoluments of the civil servants’ would be omitted.

Likewise, an amendment in sub-section (1) of section 14C had been proposed according to which after the word ‘Secretariat’ the expression ‘and Finance Committee of the Senate, as the case may be’ would be inserted.

Some Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf members, apparently opposed the amendments and chanted ‘no, no’ at the stage of clause-by-clause reading of the bill. “Those who don’t want increase in their salaries may in writing inform the Secretariat,” Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan observed.

The mover of the bill claimed to have proof of the PTI members’ signatures. Earlier, when the chair called out his name to move the bill, a few members thumped their desks as a sign of welcome to the proposed legislation.

According to Leader of the Opposition Syed Shibli Faraz, presently, a member of the Senate takes home Rs140,000 after deductions of around Rs20,000 and keeping in view the National Assembly members’ package, the senators would be getting around Rs0.516 million.

When contacted on phone, Shibli Faraz, who is a senior leader of the PTI, however, said there could not be pick and choose in such matters but insisted their party founding chairman Imran Khan does not support such steps and wants provision of relief to the public instead.

He also referred to some of the members even in his party, who he believed, may surely be in need of a review of their emolument. It may be noted that the Senate chairman, deputy chairman, leader of the House and leader of the Opposition would not be benefiting from the legislation, as their status is of a federal minister and their salaries and privileges are related to the Federal cabinet’s decision.