ISLAMABAD: The acting president, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, has increased the salary of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to more than Rs1.2 million and that of other Supreme Court judges to over Rs1.1m.

The new salaries, 20 per cent higher than the previous ones, took effect on July 1, the order said.

The order, titled the ‘Salary of Judges of the Supreme Court Order 2023’ and dated July 3, said the CJP would now be paid Rs1,229,189 per month while other top court judges would be paid Rs1,161,163.

Under the previous order issued by President Arif Alvi in June last year, the chief justice’s monthly salary was Rs1,024,324, while that of other Supreme Court judges was Rs967,636.

Mr Sanjrani’s latest order said the previous order had been repealed.

The development came after legislation recommending an increase in the perks of the previous and future Senate chairpersons received backlash, including from within the upper house.

The Senate chairman has had a busy few days handling the responsibilities of the president’s office after President Alvi travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj.

A day earlier, Mr Sanjrani had signed an ordinance to introduce further amendments to the National Accountability Bureau’s law, allowing the accountability watchdog to detain suspects over “non-cooperation”.

Last week, he also signed two bills, the amended Finance Bill 2023-24 and the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023, into law.

The finance bill was passed after the government made several changes, including fiscal tightening measures, dictated by the International Monetary Fund in a last-ditch effort to secure critical funding. The elections law is aimed at limiting the disqualification of lawmakers to five years with a retrospective effect.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2023