ISLAMABAD: The federal government has increased the salaries and house rent allowance of the judges of the Supreme Court following the approval of Acting President Yousaf Raza Gilani.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has signed an ordinance to increase the salaries of judges, after which the house rent of the Supreme Court judges has been raised from Rs 68,000 to Rs 350,000, while the judicial allowance has increased from Rs 428,000 to Rs 1,168,000.
According to the notification, this order will be called the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension, and Perks) (Amendment) Order, 2024, and this ordinance will be deemed to have come into force with immediate effect from the first day of July 2024.
It should be noted that in July last year, the federal government had increased the salary of the Chief Justice of Pakistan by Rs 204,864, bringing the Chief Justice’s salary to Rs 1,229,189.
The ordinance regarding the 20 percent increase in the salaries of Supreme Court judges was also signed by the then-Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani.
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Under the ordinance, the salary of a Supreme Court judge was increased by Rs 193,527, making the new salary Rs 1,161,163.
It should be noted that one of the reasons for the deterioration of Pakistan’s economic situation is the innumerable government expenses. Officers receive large salaries and benefits; additionally, crores of rupees are spent monthly on the security of these officers.
According to the Ministry of Interior, 532 personnel and 44 vehicles are allocated for the security of judges, bureaucrats, and ministers at all times. The total cost of security for the gunmen and guards is Rs 47.8 million per month, amounting to about Rs 57.46 million per year.
Rs 43.4 million is paid as salary per month; in addition, Rs 43.87 million is spent on the 44 vehicles available for security.
There are 34 vehicles allocated for the security of judges, which cost Rs 34.45 million in April, while the 409 gunmen and guards assigned to the security of judges were paid Rs 33.4 million in April as salary. Thus, approximately Rs 44.25 million is spent annually on the security of judges.
Six vehicles are allocated for the security of bureaucrats, incurring an expenditure of Rs 469,000 in April, while the 79 gunmen and guards assigned to security were paid Rs 6,464,000 in April alone. Thus, an annual expenditure of approximately Rs 83.1 million is incurred on the security of bureaucrats.
Four vehicles are allocated for the security of ministers, with an expenditure of Rs 472,000 recorded in April, while the 44 gunmen and guards assigned to security were paid Rs 3,595,000 in the same month. Thus, an estimated annual expenditure of about Rs 48.8 million is incurred on the security of ministers.
