NA fires 220 staffers to save money after MNAs’ pay hike – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The National Asse­mbly has laid off over 200 employees to cut expenditures, official documents revealed weeks after parliamentarians hiked their salaries and other remunerations by around 300 per cent.

In its annual report published at the end of the parliamentary year, the Natio­nal Assembly Secretariat said 220 emp­loyees were fired during two phases of “rightsizing” to save Rs1 billion annually.

“Under the leadership of Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the National Assem­bly Finance Committee has approved a series of policy initiatives aimed at optimising the Secretariat’s operations”, the report said, adding the rightsizing was being carried out in three phases.

In the first two phases, “non-essential posts” within grades 1 to 19 were abolished, which reduced the assembly’s expenditure by over Rs563m.

Annual report says move part of ‘rightsizing’ policy

The third phase of reforms is being rolled out to save Rs1bn each year.

In the first phase, 90 “non-essential posts” were abolished, which would save Rs255.84m each year.

The second phase saw the abolishment of 130 posts, which would cut Rs30.75m from expenditures.

The report didn’t mention the recent increase in the remuneration of MNAs whose basic salary was increased from Rs180,000 to Rs519,000.

It was also unclear how the salary hike for MNAs would offset the anticipated savings from the “rightsizing”.

However, the report said these layoffs “were part of a broader effort to streamline the NA Secretariat’s operations and ensure its financial sustainability”.

Record legislation

The report also touted the record number of laws passed in the first year of the 16th National Assembly.

The house “made remarkable strides in lawmaking” by passing 40 government bills and 11 private members’ bills, the report said.

It added that 36 government bills and six private members’ bills — introduced by MNAs not part of the government — became acts.

However, an analysis by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) published earlier this week said most of these laws were “hurried for passage” without re­­view by MNAs and without being refer­red to relevant standing committees.

In its report, the NA Secretariat highlighted the 2024-25 budget, which was passed by the National Assembly “after thorough debate and incorporation of the amendments proposed by the Members of the National Assembly”.

However, Pildat, in a report last year, said the government had rejected all amendments to The Finance Bill, 2024 proposed by opposition members.

The NA secretariat added that the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill was “one of the most notable milestones” in the legislative years and that it was “aimed at judicial reforms and reinforcing parliamentary supremacy”.

Other important laws mentioned in the report were the Digital Nation Pak­istan Act, 2025, to enhance Pakis­tan’s digital economy, and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, to update cybersecurity and digital crime regulations.

In addition to these legislative accomplishments, the National Assembly “made substantial progress in improving the efficiency and accountability of its administrative functions”.

On the directions of Speaker Sadiq, efforts have been initiated to digitise the functions of the Parliament House.

Speaker’s visits

The report also highlighted the foreign visits made by Mr Sadiq during the past year to enhance parliamentary cooperation.

These included visits to Geneva to at­­tend the 148th Inter-Parliamentary Uni­on; Minsk, Belarus; Russia and Hungary.

During these visits, the speaker emph­asised the role of democracy, peace and the rule of law in global development. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peaceful dialogue and highlighted the importance of Parlia­mentary Friendship Groups in strengthening international cooperation.

Mr Sadiq also expressed deep concern over the violence in Gaza and condemned Israel’s actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In October 2024, the 45th Annual Forum of Parliamentarians brought together over 46 foreign parliamentarians to Pakistan.

Chaired by Speaker Sadiq, the event emphasised the critical role of parliamentarians in addressing global challenges, including human rights violations, access to clean water, and conflict resolution.

Other notable dignitaries who arrived at the Parliament House last year were Sheikh Dr Salah Mohammad Al-Badeer, the imam of Masjid Al-Nabawi (Peace Be Upon Him) and renowned Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik.

Pakistan also hosted the first-ever Commonwealth Women Parliamen­tar­ians (CWP) Workshop on Legislative Drafting, attended by women legislators from across the Commonwealth.

The event served as a platform for discussions on best practices, legal frameworks, and strategies to enhance laws promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, the report added.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025