Recently, the federal cabinet approved up to 150 percent increase in salaries of federal ministers, ministers of state, members of the National Assembly and Senate, and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of both Houses. Quite ironically, the government and opposition were able to put their disagreements aside and seemed unified over this cause. Still, this overnight phenomenal increase was termed insufficient by the members of the National Assembly for their basic expenses. Apart from this hefty increase in their basic salaries, these Awami Numaindas also enjoy several perks and privileges, which include office maintenance allowance, constituency allowance, utility allowance, and travelling perks. These representatives also enjoy several IT equipment, telephone and travelling allowances, all of which are paid through our taxes. This reminds me of a famous saying,“Andha bante revariyan woh bii apno mein.” Instead of using the platform of parliament for improving the living standard of the common man, they have made it a means of increasing their income and privileges. And all of the above scenes of lamentation, moaning and criticism have to do with their deliverance and recognition of my vote. As the news reached different circles, it was not welcomed by the common man. At one end it would be unfair to assume that all MPs mint money and, therefore, do not need appropriate salary and allowances commensurate with their status and responsibilities. MPs must be paid handsomely, but they are also expected to deliver at the end of the day. This seems all the more unjust when taken into account the fact that the government has been giving seven to 10 percent raise in the basic salaries of public sector employees. Does the lawmakers’ performance inside the parliament ever justify this immense increase in their salaries? As a common man, I have no concerns with whatever sum they are getting as long as they are fighting for my rights. I should not be flustered over this two-fold or fivefold increase, but the thing that bothers me is their sheer lacklustre performance inside the parliament. If they had ever understood the true essence of this term “Awam ke Numainde” and took it on their shoulders, perhaps they might not have even thought of these perks and privileges. Moreover, the public would never question this act of lavishness. But their non-seriousness and reckless attitude inside the parliament raises many eyebrows. They are not doing what they are supposed to do. There is neither any performance nor attendance standard inside the parliament to the extent that there is no scrutiny even when an MP is absent from session proceedings for months. Meanwhile, what happens with an ordinary government employee if he or she goes beyond the allotted vacations is that an equivalent amount is deducted from his or her pay. Nothing of the sort applies to elected representatives. They are the voice of a common man in the parliament but perhaps they are not interested in working inside the parliament. Most of them take it as a part time job as they are busy in running their own businesses. According to a recent report published by a reliable nongovernmental organisation, FAFEN, only seven percent public representatives were there at the start of the session on November 24, and this number could hardly increase to 16 percent towards the end of the session. The given numbers suggest that 86 percent of the total parliamentarians could not gather sufficient conscience for being responsible representatives. Similarly, another report presented by FAFEN suggests that since 2013 more than 50 percent of the members have not taken part in reasoning and argumentations that go on during session proceeding. Moreover, 159 members out of 342 members in the last three and half years could not find interest in asking a single question inside the parliament. Here are some potent stats from last six months of 2015 about the so-called renowned politicians that would certainly leave you staggered. Imran Khan who takes much of the credit for social mobilisation, transparency and honesty, has attended only one out of these 42 sessions. Hamza Shahbaz, son Chief Minister Punjab, could only gather time for two sessions. Faryaal Talpur attended two sessions, former Speaker National Assembly, Fahmida Mirza attended three, while former Chief Minister Punjab, Ch. Pervaiz Elahi and former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ameer Haider Khan could only attend six sessions in the last six months of 2015. The above stats clearly advocate the flippant attitude these representatives possess in resolving issues of the common public. This clearly suggests the amount of empathy they have for the common man. The lawmakers’ low attendance shows their lacklustre attitude towards their responsibilities and their lack of passion in introducing quality legislation for the progress and prosperity of this country. It is now up to you to decide in the light of above statistics, whether our representatives justify their privileges or not. The author is an MBBS student and member Youth Parliament Pakistan. He can be reached on Twitter @shahaliijlal