President Asif Ali Zardari has returned the Salaries and Allowances Amendment Bill 2025 -- meant to raise the salaries of MNAs and senators by a hefty amount -- to parliament with objections.
The president has objected that the increase in salaries and benefits of members of parliament does not fall within the authority of the finance committees of the National Assembly and Senate.
The bill, which was passed by the National Assembly on February 11 and later by the Senate on February 17, proposed an increase in salaries of MNAs and senators from Rs218,000 to Rs519,000, except for speaker and deputy speaker. The implementation date was set for January 1, resulting in National Assembly members already receiving the increased salary before presidential assent. However, Senate members were still awaiting approval.
Presidential objections
President Zardari cited constitutional clauses to support his objections. He stated that according to Clause 1(b) of Article 75 and Clause 2 of Article 66, the salaries and allowances of parliamentarians must be determined through appropriate legislative means. Additionally, Article 88(1) clarifies that the Finance Committees of the National Assembly and Senate have authority only over expenditure control, not salary increases.
Next steps for parliament
With the president's objection, parliament now has the option to pass the bill again in a joint session and resubmit it for approval. If the president still refuses to sign, the bill will automatically become law after 10 days, as per constitutional provisions.
