ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has requested a raise in his salary, as per official records.
Based on official documents, it has been revealed that the President of the country has made a formal appeal for two increments in his salary. The first increment is proposed to take effect from July 1, 2021, while the second one is intended to take effect from July 1, 2023.
At the present time, the President receives a monthly salary of 846,550 rupees. He is seeking a salary increase to be implemented in two phases. Under this proposal, his salary would be adjusted to 1,024,325 rupees starting from July 2021, and subsequently to 1,229,190 rupees from July 2023.
In a letter dispatched to the Cabinet Secretary through the Military Secretary in the early part of this month, the Presidential Secretariat has expressed the President’s desire to amend the Fourth Schedule of the President’s Salary, Allowances and Perks Amendment Act, 2018. This amendment would establish the President’s salary at 1,024,325 rupees from July 1, 2021, and at 1,229,190 rupees from July 1, 2023.
According to the letter, “In accordance with para 3(2) of the President’s Salary, Allowances and Perks (Amendment) Act, 2018, and Gazette Notification (Part I), the President’s compensation concerning Federation matters should not exceed that of any other public office holder. Therefore, the President’s monthly salary was fixed at Rs. in 2018.”
Similar to this, the salary of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, as a public office holder, has been raised twice within the past two years through presidential orders. However, the extension of the same raise to the President of the country wasn’t applied, as the letter states, “Keeping an eye was not extended.”
Given the aforementioned context, the Presidential Secretariat has proposed amending the Fourth Schedule. The Cabinet Division forwarded the matter to the Ministry of Law, which recommended on August 18 that the process to increase the President’s salary should commence.
The Ministry of Law noted that according to clause 3(2) of the same act, the federal government holds the authority to modify the schedule via a notification and enact an amendment act to revise the President’s salary, without necessitating additional action.
The Finance Division was also consulted, and on August 22, it expressed support for the suggested increase in the President’s salary. This matter is now set to be presented to the cabinet for approval. Consequently, the President of the country will not only receive the sought-after salary hike but will also receive substantial arrears adjustments, given the proposed increments effective from July 1, 2021, and then from July 1, 2023, respectively.
