Salary of the chief justice of Pakistan has been increased from Rs448,221 per month to Rs537,865. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
While some observers anticipate a showdown between the government and the superior judiciary, President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday notified a big raise in salaries of judges of superior courts effective immediately.
While the president is out of the country to attend a summit, his office notified a 20% increase in the salaries as well as superior court judicial allowance of the judges of superior courts.
According to the presidential order issued under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the salary of the chief justice of Pakistan has been increased from Rs448,221 per month to Rs537,865, whereas the salary of Supreme Court judges has been increased from Rs423,414 to Rs508,097. Their judicial allowance has been increased from Rs196,219 to Rs235,463.
The salary of High Court chief justices has been increased from Rs425,426 to Rs498,509, whereas the increase in the salary of other high court judges has been increased from Rs399,447 to Rs479,336.
The salary as well as Superior Judicial Allowance of superior court judges was enhanced by 50% with effect from 1st July 2010 when the relief was provided to civil servants, the official handout said.
The government had granted another Ad-hoc Relief Allowance at 20% of the basic pay to all civil employees as well as employees of the Armed Forces. However, this relief was not extended to the judiciary.
The expenditure incurred with this increase of salaries would be met from within the sanctioned budget of the respective courts, the handout added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2013.
COMMENTS (70)
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He should get atleast one million
I think all high position salaries of generals, politicians and including the judges should be docked, if not themselves sacked. Their performances and results have been abysmal.
http://dawn.com/2013/02/01/attacks-on-religious-minorities-surge-judiciary-takes-political-decisions-hrw-report/
@Salman:
Are you confusing police with army? As I see it in the last one year many SPs & SSPs have been martyred in KPK not because of their policies but due to illogical and myopic planning of establishment. I do not see any general taking actions against what their predecessors did nor they are trying to reverse their actions which will haunt our society for a very very long time. The snakes that they nurtured have become pythons .. the refugees are still roaming around freely even after 3 decades and sectarian violence has engulfed even KPK now but yet we want to decorate them with medals and would break all fingers who point at facts.
@Pakistani: I read the comments posted with amusement. Rs550,000 per month is peanuts for the CJ. I think he should be paid more along with the MPs (look at Singapore)..... . Your own assertion is not any less amusing. Have you any idea of how much the total of pay plus perks is in Pakistani or Singaporean case is? . And I hear that in Singpore's per capita income is considerably higher than in Puristan. You can't compare bamboo shoots with muuli(radish).
Is it the same level as college professor in government institution. If not there is disparity in professional standards.
@Khan: they r not govt servants like others. our politicians try to deal them like Sui Northern and then they get thrashing. the profession in which call of duty is to lay ur life, can never be compared with OTHER govt servants. but its useless to discuss, tc bye
@Imran: i don't agree,, does Army forces anyone to do this? don't employ a General,, if anyone asks u to do this on gun point, u can go to the person who is now drawing half a million rupees as his salary (CJP)
I am not against the salary raise but concerned about the TAX. Did he pay tax on his salary?
@Syed: This is why Zardari increased CJP's salary, so that People should start criticizing CJP.
I read the comments posted with amusement. Rs550,000 per month is peanuts for the CJ. I think he should be paid more along with the MPs (look at Singapore). If we need the best people at these positions the pay should be the best (hence the MNCs attract the best talent).
@Ch. Allah Daad:
Especially when they don’t any actions on PMLN cases.
Had president Zardari increased his own pay by 20% then the CJP would have taken suo moto action :)!
I don't care much about the person I.C himself.. But as far as the position/post he holds, that seat deserves a lot more.. The post of C.J should have at-least a million rupees salary, if not more.. BTW the generals might be getting a bit lower salaries compared to C.J but the perks are Grand in comparison not to mention the plots they get during their service in the force..
Also consider:
Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court: $223,500.00 per year Per Capita income in the US: $41,56.00 per year
Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court: $26,319.00 per year Per capita in India: $1703.00 per year.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court: $55,130.00 per year Per capita income in Pakistan: $1260.00 per year.
You figure out the ratios. The gap between the common man and those at the top is increasing badly in South Asia.
Can anybody tell what was Mr. Jinnah's salary when he became Governor of Pakistan? Mr. Jinnah did more than any other person for Pakistan and devoted his life, health and career for the country. The basic needs of every human are the same. A judge should not get paid hundred times more than a hard working laborer. Where is the Islamic equality when it comes to PC judges? Why not take a suo motu against this order of bad PPP govt?
@Waqas A: "If judges are paid low they can be easily bribed. This is the reason why around the world professionals of courts are paid very high...." . Are you implying that for blocking the lust of easily tempted judges, the establishment itself has "bribed" them by this action? With the ability to think like that you surely have a very bright future.
A J Khan: thats an old picture
Get used to lavish Government pay rises. I have been in several countries, and it does not matter how incompetent the various leaders are, how poor the country is, or the fact that the masses are living a dreadful life style, pay rises will always be found for employees in the so called elite leisurely jobs. On the other hand the lower middle class who are really working hard, generating income for the country, and seriously having to use their intelligence are not treated that well. If you do not believe me try to come up with some numbers in regard to small shop keepers getting a 20 per cent rise over night without a substantial increase in effort.
@mohsin:
If that's the case then he should refuse the raise but he hasn’t.
@Salman: At least civil servants and other civilians get caught and get punished too .. how many Generals have been caught or punished for their corruption? Zero. Lets not fool people .. They are paid servants just like any other civilians and should be answerable just like others too .. We have banks, Residential housing schemes, bakeries and a dozen other such chains run by Armed forces, they get plots and houses in posh areas and roam around in Mercedes cars that they cannot afford to buy in their salaries but no one can question them.
so all the pressure on PPP government was to get extra raise in salary???
If judges are paid low they can be easily bribed. This is the reason why around the world professionals of courts are paid very high. And a CJ can't be compared with a factory helper.
@Kashif how are you so daft, what private sector in Pakistan competes with the judiciary ? do people just post the first thing that comes to mind ??
Do you guys really think he deserves it? Why he has not taken any action against banned outfits and people who are helping them. What ever is going in the northern areas of Pakistan, why is he not taking any suo motu against sectarian killings? Do you guys think the following actions are more important then killing of people??
http://dawn.com/2012/07/26/samosa-justice/
http://tribune.com.pk/story/343410/sc-takes-suo-motu-notice-of-waheeda-shah-slapping-incident/
CJ is only issues notices but NO PUNISHMENT!!!
he didnt ask for a raise , it was given to him ......Plus if he saved money from RPP and Stell mills case this salary is very small if he had taken 1% commission and given the decision in favour of the companies
In order to get the best from the market, government Salaries should be in competition with the private sector. Else all the cream would go to the private sector and only trash will be left for government sectors. I think pays should be increased even more.
@Pakistani: The factory worker has been doing his/her jobs deligently and is paying the hefty salaries and perks of these govt and army officials. CJ is the (should be) servant of factory worker not the other way around. Whatever hope we have left in our country is because of those factory workers and countless other unsung heros who go through their lives and help the people around them inspite of all the theft, corruption and injustices done by these people in power.
These servants should provide basic things like security and justice to the factory worker, are they doing that?
Sad thing is that you probably are from common man but have accepted the status quo....
kanna looks happy. does it also mean that he has to resolve 20% more cases.
@m omar.... nice joke
@Patriot:
Don't worry Arsalan Iftikhar is taking care of that.
Remove the perks and increase the salaries. Let the govt and army officials manage their own lavish life styles. The salary is just a fraction of the total cost that common tax payer pays to these 'servants'
On CJ job approval, I would have said that he is doing a good job only if he had punished even one terrorist! all he is doing is easy activism and either have sympathy towards the dangerous taliban or is just scared of them, both are not acceptable situation.
Not much, judges of supreme court deserve much more and salary announcement should not make headlines in media.
@Pakistani: "@SHAKHIR LAKHANI: For God sake don’t tell me you are comparing a job of CJ with a factory helper. CJ job is actually the toughest being the superme authority of the country. He deserves this!". . Shakir Lakahani, did not compare the job of CJ with that of a factory "helper" in the degree of toughness. Even you will accept, that a factory worker's environment is different than that of any babu. No air conditioning, no paneled walls, no staff to help at home or at work, much longer working hours, no vacation, no job guaranty, no pension plan, in case of factory fire it may be curtains time sure a factory worker, no medical insurance for family members, no official palatial residence with a garden, no chauffeur driven car, yet he should be paid only 1/67th of pay? . This must be part of the package provided by roti, kapra aur makaan outfit!
OMG... Their Indian counterpart get's a peanut only by that comparison. Till 1996, the Indian Chief Justice was getting around Rs 33,000 (US$ 600.6). It was later revised in 2006 and after that it was increased to around Rs 1 lakh (US$1,800). This doesn't include the perks such as free bungalow, cars, electricity etc.
Its a fair salary package.
is it another Reconciliation ???
bhai paisay lay lo per kaam ker do, get us rid of corrupt leaders
Worth it if he continues to ask tough questions and bring justice to Pakistan.
Zardari Zindabad!!!
i think mr cj should take so mo to action on it.
while some people have straight away started asking about salary(earning) of a General,, let me apprise u all, that a General doesn't get more than Rs 150,000/ month. and additional perks he receives are NEVER more than a Bureaucrat or a Judge (not to mention the amount of corruption they do in their career). My dear compatriots, the corruption our civil administration and judiciary does is 10 times more than our Defence Budget. But its very interesting and unfortunate that we start dragging our own Army where they have not got anything to do. If this person deserves more,, then Arslan Iftikhar also deserved more (those allegations have never been proven wrong).. im a lawyer btw
....And the Hammer comes down to shell out...
True to the spirit of the country.
Perkistan.
What is the salary of other chiefs of pakistan?
Lets get things straight.. what he has done except targeting PPP regime.. NAB Chairman's assertion that his verbal orders are different from his written orders speaks volumes about the true face of this person...What has been his performance in terms of except bugging PPP? There has been a record number of increase in pending cases.. corporate sector pays based on the performance but this guy is getting the raise for plainly ignoring his basic duty..
@Shakir Lakhani: Salaries for any position are set according to the responsibility and accountability. Chief executives are paid very high because they bring the strategy to run the company, and for that strategy they are accountable to the stake holders i.e. board of directors, creditors and shareholders. In the same way a Chief Justice is responsible for the judicial system in the country for that he brings in a strategy and is responsible and accountable for the success of that strategy. Corruption in the system comes in when people in position of power and responsibility are not paid as per people paid in other sectors e.g. private sectors. If we starting paying our police and people in other government departments in line with the what is paid in private sector than we can decrease corruption. In our society school teachers are poorly paid and because our focus is not education and we do not feel that a position of school teacher is an important position, these people earn very less respect. We have to come out of these emotional cliché that a Chief Justice be paid what a factory worker is paid. We should be concentrating more on how a factory worker, a school teacher, a police constable and income tax clerk be adequately paid so we can bring equality in our society. I live in UK and my son goes to public school (what we call government school in Pakistan) in his class he has friends whose parent’s profession range from a factory worker, cleaners to doctors, highly paid executives. The head teacher of that school earns a salary of what a manager of a big multinational or a doctor earns and teachers earns really good too. Same is case with other factory workers, police and other government officials. But over here also their salaries cannot be compared with chiefs of any departments may it be Judicial System or of a large corporation, because those are positions of great responsibility and accountability.
@Shakir Lakhani: Please!! Spare us your protest here. The man deserves the pay raise, as he is doing justice to all the rupees being doled out to him from our exchequer. I WANT my tax to go as pay to a man like CJP and justices of the Supreme Court!
When the ratio between top earner and lowest earner go beyond 6:1 things will go south.
As Zardari says every commodity has a value.
People will now start a long list of things that it is too much - should they want to check, they should do it for the Salary and the 'Perks' the Government is enjoying! At least what he is earning is transparent
zardari zindabad!!
a tiny little pre-poll hug?
the damage they are worth more than billions
They have earned it the study and mental strength needed for this job, no sir not an ordinary mind can do !
@Shakir Lakhani: a factory helper earns 8 th if he had the qualification, knowledge and judgment ability same as chief justice of Pakistan firstly he wouldnt be a factory helper in the first place alteast compare sensiblly and secondly if they are not payed this much they will corrupt themselves just like our police forces.
How much does a general make while in post and on retirement?
Mubarak; we have full confidence in Judiciary.They should be paid more ,if possible
@Shakir Lakhani: May be he is helping the poor with his "excessive salary". Even if he is not, there is no reason for him to decline the pay and be an example. I'm just happy, he is trying to do this job. Which is more than what I can say for other 'big earners' like the PM, President, Interior Minister, etc.
@Shakir Lakhani: i disagree, people should be well paid in government sector, so proffesionals, honest, skillfull people compete for this post. he is cheif justice of paksitan, why should he decline this raise... its his hard earned salary and mind you.. he can earn millions of the the record, if he wants.
Wow. That smile is for that undeserved pay rise. Enjoy. Enjoy, buddy. God has listened to your prayers ar people's cost.
Because he deserves it. He is the only person taking a stand against the powerful wrongdoers. God Bless him.
He deserves more
Too meager for the prestigious slot! GMs of privets sector earning lot more than this!
Now let's get this straight. I know that there are some chief executives in the private sector who get up to ten million per month, but that kind of salary is the exception, not the rule. the minimum wage is Rs. 8,000 p.m. Why should the chief justice (a government employee) be paid 67 times what a factory helper earns? Mind you, besides this fabulous salary, the chief justice probably gets other perks like accommodation, cars with drivers, free electricity and telephone calls, etc. In all fairness, the chief justice should set an example and decline this excessive salary.