A RAISE in the salaries of members of parliament and the provincial legislatures in Pakistan always evokes a strong negative reaction, at least from vocal segments of society, including the media. In 2019, the increase in the salary of Punjab Assembly members by the PTI-led provincial government led to such intense criticism that the raise had to be held back on the directions of the then prime minister Imran Khan, but was silently implemented after a few weeks.

The most recent raise granted to MNAs in January this year was no exception, as widespread criticism was heaped on the legislators from all major parties who, despite their differences, had taken a unanimous stand to demand a hefty salary raise. In response to mounting pressure from the legislators, the National Assembly Finance Committee, constituted under Article 88 of the Constitution and headed by the Speaker, ended up approving in the last week of January an increase of about 176 per cent, almost three times the previous salary of Rs188,000 enhancing it to Rs516,000 per month for MNAs. The committee`s decision received Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif`s approval within days, and the new salaries were notified by the Speaker by Jan 31. The increase became effective from Jan 1, 2025. A similar raise for senators is also in the works and it is expected that the increase in this case will also be effective from the same date.

MNAs had received their last raise about nine years ago. Interestingly, although Section 14B of the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 1974, updated as of July 2024, provides that the `salaries, allowances and privileges of members shall automatically be increased by the Finance Committee of the National Assembly Secretariat by notification in the official Gazette in proportion to the increase in the emoluments of the civil servants`, no such automatic increase was approved in the past years, apparently because of fear of a public backlash. This is so despite the fact that the salaries of civil servants were increased almostevery year at the time of the passage of the annual budget. During the approval of Budget 2024-25, for example, the salaries of civil servants of pay scales one to 16 and from 17 to 22 were increased by 25pc and 20pc respectively.

In the meantime, the procedure to adjust salaries of members of parliament has also been altered. Earlier, the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 1974, was amended by parliament each time a change was to be made, but later, the National Assembly Finance Committee was authorised to approve the adjustments in the Finance Act, 2024.

The Balochistan Assembly had taken the lead to significantly increase the monthly salaries of its members to Rs440,000 in October 2014. The Punjab Assembly sprang into action much later in 2024, when the salaries of its members were increased from Rs176, 000 to Rs500,000 per month. The members` monthly salaries in the provincial assemblies of Sindh and KP, in the meantime, remain modest at Rs145,000 and Rs160,000 respectively. It seems that it won`t be long before these two assemblies also increase the salaries of their members after seeing the pattern of increase in the other two provincial assemblies and the National Assembly.

The recent increase in the salaries of legislators is not out of sync with similar raises given to other public officials. The house rent and judicial allowance of the judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts were increased by over 200pc in November 2024, after which the salaries of their lordships are estimated to touch around Rs2 million per month, excluding perks such as fully maintained and chauffeur-driven vehicles, etc.

The salaries of the superior court judges are generally higher than the salaries of national legislators but an analysis of the data presented in the Commonwealth Parliamentarians Pay and Remuneration Survey Output Report indicates that the salaries of judges are higher by a much greater margin in Pakistan than in several Commonwealth countries such as Australia, where judges earn 198.74pc more than legislators.In India and Bangladesh, judges earn around 150pc and 91pc more than legislators respectively. In Pakistan, this disparity was around 433pc in 2021. Although it has come down to 287pc after the recent raises in legislators` salaries, it remains higher than in many countries.

Since legislators are public figures and mostly lead a fish-bowl life, it is natural that their emoluments and raises invite much greater attention.

However, populist rhetoric aside, much of the criticism on the recent increase is not justified.

Being a legislator is more than a full-time job, and a member who has to do justice to his or her duties within the assembly, parliamentary committees, a large constituency and parliamentary party, has to put in considerable time and effort, often at a huge cost to his or her personallife.It is true that, in general, legislators` performance leaves much to be desired and that is what prompts most of the criticism, but it is also the strong preference of their constituents which forces them to spend a major part of their time outside the assemblies focusing on resolving the personal issues of their constituents and trying to secure development projects for the constituencies. Unless the quality of our governance considerably improves and local governments become effective, it is unlikely that the legislators` time will be spent differently.

If we wish to attract accomplished and professional persons to our legislatures, we should be prepared to pay them salaries closer to market rates. We should not assume that all legislators come (or will come in the future) from affluent classes, with huge disposable incomes. Middleclass professionals will require decent emoluments for doing the tough job of a legislator. The increased salaries should therefore be accepted as a cost of the effort to befittingly run democratic institutions. • The writer is president of the Pakistan-based think tank Pildat.

president@pildat.org X: @ABMPildat