Various religious parties have strongly condemned the demand of parliamentarians for an increase in their salaries.
Leaders belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST) and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) told an all parties’ conference in Karachi on Monday that the economy of the country was going down and the prices of all goods had gone beyond the reach of the common man.
They said the legislators were thinking of their luxuries and asking for business class air fares. The country was begging the IMF for the third tranche and these legislators, who were sitting in the corridors of the assemblies due to the votes of the people, were thinking of a raise and a luxurious life, said the speakers.
The leaders said it was a shameful act, and these legislators should apologise to the nation and stage a sit-in against price hikes. The lawmakers should take to the streets against the rise in petroleum prices and shortage of gas in the country, they added.
The religious leaders said the parliamentarians wanted their money back, which they had spent on winning elections, through innocent voters who had elected them.
Now it was the turn of the masses to take to the streets because the legislators had demanded a raise in their salaries, they said, adding that a mini-budget was about to come, and that would cause more price hikes.
Also on Monday, most senators, including those belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, rejected a bill seeking to an increase in the salaries of the lawmakers. PTI Senator Faisal Javed, PPP’s Sherry Rehman and PML-N’s Raja Zafar-ul-Haq rejected the bill. However, the MQM-P’s Barrister Saif voiced his support for the bill.