The cash-strapped Pakistan government has dismissed as “baseless” reports of Prime Minister Imran Khan getting a near-four-fold hike in salary, according to media reports.

The clarification was issued after news reports claimed the prime minister’s gross salary would be increased from Rs 2,01,574 to around Rs 8,00,000.

“We have reduced the expenses of the Prime Minister House by 40 per cent. I live in my own home, pay my own expenses. My salary is not enough to cover the expenses of my own household,” Khan said.

The Pakistan government has been implementing austerity measures to improve the country’s finances. In July last year, Pakistan registered a currency reserve of less than USD 8 billion enough to cover only 1.7 months of imports.In August 2018, Pakistan approached the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package after the Khan government took over.