ISLAMABAD – Federal Defence Minister and senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has strongly criticised the substantial increase in the salaries and perks of the Speaker National Assembly, Chairman Senate and their deputies, calling it an act of “economic obscenity” amid growing public outrage.
Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, Asif said, “The massive raise in the salaries and privileges of the Speaker National Assembly, his deputy, the Chairman Senate and his deputy falls under the category of financial obscenity.”
He condemned the decision and urged the leadership to consider the hardships faced by the common man. “We must keep the life of the ordinary citizen in mind. All our honour and dignity are owed to them,” he added.
The criticism comes in the wake of reports highlighting a significant raise in the monthly salaries of top parliamentary officeholders, with the Speaker and Chairman Senate now earning hundreds of thousands of rupees.
Just a day ago, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government provided as much relief as possible to the salaried class in the budget for Fiscal Year-2025-26.
He while addressing a post-budget press conference emphasized that providing relief to the salaried class was a personal priority for both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and himself. “We aimed to link pensions and salaries to inflation and offered relief accordingly,” he said. Over Rs400 billion in tax has been collected through improved enforcement, and future legislation would be discussed in Parliament to strengthen the process.
Budget FY2025–26: Govt sets 4.2% GDP goal, eases tax burden on salaried class
