The Punjab Assembly has passed the Public Representatives Laws Amendment Bill 2025, granting provincial ministers, the speaker, and deputy speaker full leave allowance equal to their monthly salaries, in a move that further increases financial benefits for public office holders.
Previously, under the Punjab Ministers’ Salaries, Allowances and Benefits Act 1975, ministers could only draw 74% of their monthly salary while on leave. With the new amendment, ministers who earlier received Rs74,000 as leave allowance from a Rs100,000 monthly salary will now get the entire amount during their leave period.
This means ministers will now receive Rs960,000 in full leave allowance without deductions. Similarly, the Punjab Assembly speaker will get Rs950,000, and the deputy speaker will receive Rs775,000 during official leave.
This amendment comes months after the Punjab Assembly approved a bill in December 2024 that sharply increased the salaries of provincial lawmakers and officeholders. That legislation, presented by Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, raised the salary of MPAs from Rs76,000 to Rs400,000, and provincial ministers’ salaries from Rs180,000 to Rs960,000.
Additionally, the speaker’s salary was increased from Rs125,000 to Rs950,000, and the deputy speaker’s pay rose from Rs120,000 to Rs775,000. Parliamentary secretaries saw their salaries jump from Rs83,000 to Rs451,000, while special assistants and advisers had their pay boosted to Rs665,000 from Rs100,000.
These moves have sparked debate over the rising cost of governance, with critics questioning the justification for repeated salary hikes amid economic challenges
