MQM legislators getting salaries even after resigning

Lawmakers yet to surrender official vehicles, fuel allowance, other perks

KARACHI: Despite tendering resignations from the Sindh Assembly nearly two months ago, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers are still drawing salaries, allowances and availing the perks and privileges entitled to members of the House.

The MQM lawmakers had tendered their resignations on August 12 to protest the discriminatory operation being carried out against their party. They had complained that no one was listening to their genuine demands inside the assembly and the parliament.

Each MPA draws more than Rs70,000 as monthly salary, including various allowances, such as Rs8,000 a month for fuel. “We release around Rs3.57 million to all the 51 MPAs of the MQM,” said an officer who works in the Sindh Assembly budget section.

Those lawmakers who were appointed as chairpersons of standing committees have yet to surrender their government vehicles, for which they continue to receive fuel and maintenance allowances. “Ten MPAs belonging to the party work as chairpersons of standing committees of the provincial assembly,” said the officer.

“As per the rules, a chairperson of a standing committee should return his official car within three days of ceasing to hold office,” said an officer. Only MQM parliamentary leader Sardar Ahmed has surrendered the government vehicle to the assembly secretary, he added. MQM lawmakers Sardar Ahmed and opposition leader Khwaja Izharul Hasan were unavailable for comments but MPA Arshad Vohra, who is a chairperson of one of the standing committees, claimed that he had refused to take the government car when he was appointed. As far as the salaries were concerned, Vohra insisted it was the speaker’s discretion to stop or release salaries.

“The salaries and allowances are directly credited to our accounts,” he said, adding that hardly any standing committee chairperson of the MQM was given a car.

A social welfare standing committee chairperson of the MQM, Abdul Haseeb, said that they have received only one month’s salary and allowance and they utilised it as they are still members of the assembly. “We are lawmakers until or unless the speaker accepts our resignations,” he said, adding that they were entitled to receive government vehicles but were not given any.

Sindh Assembly secretary GM Umar Farooq told The Express Tribune that the resignations of MQM lawmakers are still under process. “As per the rules, they are members of the House that is why we release salaries to them,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2015.