Despite ongoing proposals for austerity measures, including a 60 percent reduction in clerical staff and the elimination of vacant posts to reduce government expenditure, the Prime Minister has approved the appointment of over a dozen consultants with salary packages reaching up to Rs. 2 million per month.

According to official documents, these appointments include consultants with salaries ranging from Rs. 305,502 to Rs. 2 million per month. Among the notable appointments, Dr. Nayab Babar has been named Project Director/Chief Investment Officer for PM initiatives supporting IT startups, specialized IT training, and venture capital under the Ministry of Information and Telecom, with a minimum salary of Rs. 875,000 for a two-year term.

Additionally, Dr. Awais e Siraj, Amena Ali Kamil, and Dr. Sohaib ul Hasan have been appointed as members of Implementation and Monitoring, Development Communication, and Private Sector Development and Devolution, respectively, under the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives. These appointments are on a two-year contract under the SPPS-1 scale.

The Prime Minister has also approved the appointments of Dr. Shazia Ghani and Nizamuddin Arshad as Team Leads on the MP-1 scale for a three-year contract. Zahid Hussain Sheikh and Arsalan Ahmed have been appointed as Senior Associates on the MP-II scale in Finance and Economy, while Muhammad Ahmed and Yasir Arafat have been appointed as Senior Associates on the MP-II scale in Energy, all for three-year terms.

Further appointments include Muhammad Dawood as Senior Associate for Special Projects and Initiatives at the PM Office, Rizwan Ahmed as Research Associate on the MP-III scale in Research and Development, Sikandar e Azam as Digital Communication Officer in the Information and Broadcasting Division, Shoaib Khan as DG Telecom Wireless in the Information Technology and Telecommunication Division, and Aisha Tauqir as Research Associate on the MP-III scale in Research and Development, all on three-year contracts.

The approved salary structure for these positions includes over Rs. 0.9 million for MP-1 scale, comprising basic pay, house rent, utilities, and transport monetization. The MP-II scale offers a package including basic pay and allowances totaling Rs. 448,280, while the MP-III scale offers Rs. 305,520. The SPPS remuneration ranges from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 2 million, depending on the grade.