PKI assails bill seeking extraordinary perks & privileges for Senate chief

LAHORE: Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) strongly criticising the bill suggesting extra-ordinary perks and privileges for chairmen of the upper house of Pakistan, which is hard hit by the economic crisis and record high inflation, has asked the President of Pakistan not to sign this bill and reject it.

“The Army Chief is requested to intervene and stop the politicians for making such jokes to their countrymen, if the President fails to reject this bill,” said PKI President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar in a statement issued here on Tuesday.

He claimed that inflation had affected every member of society but the farming community had been particularly hard-hit. The prices of fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds had doubled or tripled. Farmers had been quiet about this, understanding the foreign debts, lower foreign reserves, declining exports, rising dollar parity, and inflation in the country.

However, they were shocked to learn that the vultures are still feasting on the meat of the masses. Even vultures leave a skeleton after eating meat, but these power-hungry political vultures are devouring the bones and skeletons of the poor masses of Pakistan, Khalid Mahmood Khokhar observed.

He said all political parties were equally responsible for this except Jamaat-e-Islami. Everyone agrees when they find out about the private bill concerning the perks and privileges of the Chairman of the Senate of the defaulting country, who is increasing the prices of petroleum, electricity, gas, and other essential commodities in the name of IMF demands and the dying economy of Pakistan.

Khalid Khokhar said that the bill extends privileges to all past, present, and future chairmen who have held the position for three years. The chairman is entitled to a monthly salary of Rs300,000, a personal staff of 12, and 8 permanent guards for a lifetime, along with VVIP security. He can charter airplanes for himself and his family for domestic or international travel. Additionally, 6 guards and 4 policemen from the ATS will be deployed at his residence. He will have a discretionary grant of Rs800,000 per year and unlimited health facilities in any private or public sector hospitals, even if he wants to be treated at home. During international travel, he can have one family member accompany him on a chartered or requisitioned plane. He is entitled to Rs300,000 for his residence, etc., and many more benefits. The private member bill was unanimously approved.

Pakistani youth was desperately looking for jobs and had to be eaten up by fish in the sea and their Be-Kafan dead bodies were lying on sea shore of other countries because they wanted to escape from this country. Over 100 million people were living below the poverty line; 300 million children were out of school. Instead of reducing the perks and privileges of other power houses of the country, we were setting a precedent of giving them to others, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023