Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Despite boycott of the National Assembly sessions over the issue of Panama leaks, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers encashed their salary of more than two months from the national exchequer.

Sources told Daily Times that 33 members of the National Assembly (MPAs) belonging to the PTI, including party chief Imran Khan, encashed more than Rs 5.74 million in respect of their salaries of two months and 10 days despite remaining absent from the assembly.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan visited the NA only twice during the year, but received salary of all 12 months, sources disclosed.

Sources said that every PTI MNA received Rs 174,000: the salary of every MNA is Rs 76,000 per month without allowance. They got just the basic salary and were not entitled to get allowances, since they had stopped coming to the assembly.

When contacted, a National Assembly spokesman confirmed that the salary of PTI members had been transferred into their accounts, as their basic salary could not be stopped even if they did not come to the assembly.

Meanwhile, sources in the National Assembly said that no law existed to stop the salaries of parliamentarians who did not attend sessions. They said that the only way to stop their salaries was through passing of a motion in the assembly to quash their memberships for remaining absent for 40 consecutive days. However, they said that none of the assembly members from any party had filed such a motion.