Will it make any difference if one asks the Sindh assembly about the magic tricks it played on the very last day of its tenure? MPAs’ salaries and allowances have been increased by 60 percent from the back date (June 2011). They would also claim for additional perks such as mobile phone allowance, travelling vouchers and ‘recreational’ allowance etc. Salaries and allowances of outgoing ministers have also been increased by 40 percent. The chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker will be entitled for official security and a grade-17 personal assistant throughout their life. This is in addition to the increase in salaries, allowances and perks. Earlier, the federal government decided to provide free medical care for all the outgoing national assembly members and their families for their entire life.
I am just speechless, unable to make any comment on this lawlessness on the part of lawmakers. Look at what’s going on in the country – security, economy, education, investor confidence, religious/sectarian harmony, all have gone the drain. Hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced due to army action in tribal areas or have been victims of the last two devastating floods. And our lawmakers are busy in getting away whatever is left in the treasury. But nothing to worry about, the interim government is going to negotiate a bailout package worth billions of dollars with the IMF. We will soon have enough money to meet all the bills coming from the parliamentarians who are now a part of history.
