Federal govt raises Supreme Court judges' salaries, allowance

ISLAMABAD: The federal government increased the salaries and other allowances of Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan judges, ARY News reported.

According to details, the house rent allowance has been raised from Rs. 68,000 to Rs. 350,000, while the judicial allowance has been increased from Rs. 3.42 million to Rs. 10.9 million.

This decision was made after Acting President Yousuf Raza Gilani’s approval and notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The development follows last year’s July increase in the salary of Chief Justice of Pakistan more than Rs. 200,000 , bringing it to over Rs. 1.2million. The 20 percent increase in Supreme Court judges’ salaries was approved through an ordinance by then President Sadiq Sanjrani.

According to the ordinance, the salaries of other judges were also raised by 20 percent to over Rs. 1.1 million.

Earlier in June, the National Assembly (NA) passed an amendment in the Budget 2024-25 to increase the salaries and travel allowances of Pakistan lawmakers despite protest from the opposition.

The amendment, presented by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Abdul Qadir Patel, was approved with a majority vote. The amendment to the Salary and Allowances Act was implemented through the Finance Bill 2024-25.

According to the documents, travel allowance for lawmakers have been increased from Rs10 to Rs25 per kilometre. Additionally, unused annual airline tickets will now carry over to the following year instead of being canceled. The number of annual travel vouchers has also been increased from 25 to 30.