Pakistan Grants 500% Salary Hike for Top Lawmakers Just Weeks After Securing $1 Billion IMF Bailout

Pakistan’s government has approved substantial salary increases for senior parliamentary officials, coming just one month after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sanctioned a $1 Billion emergency bailout package for the financially troubled nation. 

The Shehbaz Sharif administration has dramatically boosted the monthly compensation for the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman to $12,000 (approximately ₹1.3 million), representing a staggering jump from the previous ₹205,000 monthly salary from the speaker position.  

According to Samaa TV’s reporting, while the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs issued the official notification on May 29 the complete derails only emerged publicly on Friday. The enchanted compensation package includes an additional 50% temporary allowance for both senior positions, with the new salary framework taking effect retroactively from January 1, 2025. 

Reports indicate the federal minister have also approved salary enhancements proposals for themselves and state minister through a circulation process, though specific figures for this increase have not been disclosed. 

IMF Bailout Timeline

The timing of these salary hikes coincided closely with Pakistan’s recent financial lifetime from the IMF. The International lending body approved the substantial $1billion bailout package in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in J&K, which claimed 26 lives. 

The IMF stated that this decision enabled “an immediate disbursement of around $1 billion (SDR 760 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about $ 2.1 billion (SDR 1.52 billion),” the IMF said. 

 Pakistan’s Economic Crisis 

Pakistan has become the world’s fourth-largest borrower from the IMF. The country is stuck under a $10.4 billion loan, clearly showing Pakistan is anything but an economically stable country. 

As per the data till March 2023, Inflation in Pakistan touched 35.37 per cent. This was the highest in nearly 50 years in the country’s history. 

Pakistan is also going through a crisis as its public debt continues to spiral, with most of its budget being eaten up by loan installments.