Govt Announces Major Austerity Measures Across Public Sector

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a broad set of austerity measures aimed at reducing government expenditure and redirecting resources toward public welfare programmes.

The measures were unveiled during a high-level meeting reviewing fiscal savings initiatives and assessing the impact of regional developments on petroleum product prices.

Under the announced policy, salaries of employees working in state-owned enterprises and autonomous institutions operating under government oversight will be reduced by between 5 percent and 30 percent. Officials stated that the financial savings generated from these reductions, along with the elimination of board participation fees for government representatives serving on corporate boards, will be deposited into the government’s public relief fund.

Additionally, for a period of two months, 25 percent of the salaries of federal cabinet members—including ministers, advisers, and special assistants—will be redirected toward public welfare initiatives.

The prime minister has also imposed a complete ban on foreign travel for these officials, instructing them to rely on teleconferencing and virtual meetings for official engagements abroad.

Operational cost-cutting measures were also approved as part of the austerity programme. These include a 50 percent reduction in fuel allocations for government vehicles and the grounding of approximately 60 percent of the official vehicle fleet. Restrictions have also been placed on new procurements across government departments.

To ensure compliance with these directives, a third-party audit will be conducted over a two-month period to monitor implementation of the vehicle and fuel reduction measures.

Authorities further clarified that certain government entities—including law enforcement agencies and the Federal Board of Revenue—will continue operating under their existing work schedules and will not adopt the four-day workweek being implemented for other government offices.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also directed Pakistani diplomatic missions worldwide to observe the national celebrations of Pakistan Day on March 23 with simplicity and minimal expenditure.

He emphasised that strict compliance with the austerity measures is required, instructing federal secretaries to submit daily reports to a designated monitoring committee responsible for reviewing the implementation process.

Officials noted that the austerity programme is intended to stabilise petroleum prices and maximise financial resources for public relief amid prevailing economic pressures.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister Attaullah Tarar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kiyani, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, and other senior officials.