ISLAMABAD: The embattled government, under a well-thought-out plan to please the incumbent president, decided to increase his salary from Rs80,000 to Rs846,550 to further burden the national exchequer.
Just one week before the expiry of its tenure, the federal cabinet, in its meeting held on Tuesday, gave the approval to amend the President’s Salary, Allowances and Privileges Act 1975.
The Cabinet Division had presented the bill in the federal cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
“Cabinet Division proposes that the federal cabinet, in terms of Section 16 (a) of the Rules of Business 1973, may approve the (amendment) bill in the President’s Salary, Allowance and Privilege Act 1975”, the document stated.
Sources said that the bill will be presented in the National Assembly (NA) for approval and eventually the president’s salary will be Rs846,550 per month.
The cabinet had withheld the summary in the last week but the prime minister, as the minister in charge of the Cabinet Division, has authorised the resubmission of the summary, the document added.
The salary, allowances and privileges of the president are governed by the President’s Salary, Allowances and Privileges Act 1975. The document stated that the salary of the president was last revised in December 2004 at Rs 80,000 per month.
The document further stated that as the head of state, salary of the president must be a symbolic one rupee higher than the remuneration package of any public functionary of the government of Pakistan. Cabinet Division proposed that the salary of the president may be re-fixed at Rs846,550, one Pakistani Rupee higher than the salary of the chief justice of Pakistan. This requires amendment in section 3 of the President’s Salary, Allowance and Privilege Act 1975.
The document added that the Law and Justice Division had also vetted the draft (amendment) bill regarding the President’s Salary, Allowance and Privilege Act 1975.
Pakistan Today tried to contact secretary cabinet to inquire about the reason for the surge in the president’s salary but no response was received by the time of filing of this story.
