Govt under fire for salary hike for top parliamentarians while minimum wage remains static

The federal government’s decision to significantly raise the salaries and financial perks of top parliamentary officeholders has drawn criticism, even from within its ranks. Defence Minister and senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif called the move a ‘financial obscenity’ on the social media platform X on Wednesday.

“The huge increase in the salaries and financial incentives for the speaker, deputy speaker, chairman Senate, and deputy chairman Senate falls under the category of financial obscenity.

“Keep in mind the life of the common man, all our honour and dignity are due to him,” said Asif.

Meanwhile, during the post-budget press conference on Wednesday, Finance Minister Muhammad Auranzgeb defended the sharp increase in the monthly salary of lawmakers.

“If we talk about raising salaries of government employees, then ministers’ salaries should also be reviewed.”

He pointed out that the salaries of the Senate chairman, deputy chairman, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker were recently increased.

When questioned about whether their salaries had been raised from Rs250,000 to Rs2.15 million per month, the minister remarked that the focus should be on when ministers, ministers of state, and parliamentarians last received a salary adjustment.

“The cabinet ministers’ salaries were last increased in 2016. If a salary raise had been made annually, the recent hike would not seem so high,” he explained.

The government in its budget presentation also announced a 10% increase in salaries for federal government employees (Grade-1 to Grade-22) and a 7% increase in pensions for retired government servants.

However, it decided to keep the minimum wage unchanged in the budget for the financial year 2025-26, saying it would remain at Rs37,000 per month.

The decision to keep the minimum wage unchanged comes despite calls from some public and political quarters.