ISLAMABAD, March 5: Central leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Ahsan Iqbal has said that the big raise in salaries and, perks and privileges of the president, judges and federal ministers reflects the total neglect of the Musharraf government to the plight of millions of have-nots.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Iqbal said at a time when the poor were being crippled by the unleashed increase in the prices of gas, electricity, petrol and edibles coupled with a straight- jacket of increasing taxation on every consumable item, the increase in the salary and other perks and privileges has come as a deadly blow to them.

This action, he added, speaks of the elitist culture that Musharraf government is nurturing at the cost of the poor strata of the society.

“In addition to the government employees, pensioners are also being meted out a step-motherly treatment,” her said and added that these actions exposed the commitment of the government to eliminate poverty.

He asked the government to live up to its word of eliminating poverty in real spirit and also increase the salaries of the government employees and the pensioners with retrospective effect besides controlling the price hike and huge taxation.