Asif Ali Zardari is one of Pakistan’s richest politicians (file photo)
Islamabad:
Pakistan’s newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari announced on Tuesday that he will not take any salary during his term in a bid to help the cash-strapped country cope with challenging economic difficulties.
Mr Zardari, 68, was sworn in as Pakistan’s 14th president on Sunday and his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said in a statement on October 10 that he had decided to encourage prudent financial management and not give the country Financial burden.
“The President considers it crucial not to burden the country’s finances and therefore prefers to forego his salary,” the Press Department of the Presidential Secretariat said in a press release on Tuesday.
Former President Arif Alvi received Rs 8,46,550 per month, which was fixed by the Parliament in 2018. Mr Zardari is one of Pakistan’s richest politicians.
Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was sworn in as President of Pakistan for his second term at a ceremony in Islamabad on Sunday at Awan Sadr.
Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also followed Zardari’s lead and decided to give up his salary while in office, citing the economic challenges facing the country.
In an interview with X, Mr Naqvi said he was committed to serving the country “in every possible way” during challenging times.
Mr Naqvi said he had decided to forego his salary during his tenure. “Committed to supporting and serving our country in every way possible during these challenging times,” he said in the X post.
Debt-ridden Pakistan has been under economic pressure, with commodity prices hitting sky-high levels.
Newly elected governments are in desperate need of new loans from the International Monetary Fund, and their politicians, often the super-rich, use this tactic to win over the poor.
Last February, then-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet waived their salaries and other benefits to help the country deal with a possible external debt default.
Prime Minister Sharif, speaking at his first cabinet meeting on Monday after inducting 19 members, said the first test facing the newly elected government in the cash-strapped country is to control inflation and food prices.
Sharif, who was re-elected on Sunday, said controlling inflation was the biggest challenge but that the government and provincial governments would consider how to manage prices of essential goods.
“This is our first test,” he said.
Sharif said Pakistan was facing huge challenges and needed “deep surgery” to pull the cash-strapped country out of its economic crisis.
Assessing the issues and issues affecting the economy and the country, the prime minister asked cabinet members to “perform or perish” and said “the time has come and cannot be lost”.
Sharif said the government should take tough decisions immediately. “Intensive surgery is required because antibiotics don’t work,” he said.
He directed the immediate formation of a committee to control the prices of basic food items.
He stressed that we must severely crack down on unreasonable price increases and huge profits on important commodities.
On the advice of the Commerce Ministry, the Cabinet also approved restrictions on exports of onions and bananas until the 15th of next month.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
