Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced major austerity measures for reducing government expenditure and public relief, under which the salaries of employees of government and autonomous bodies working under the patronage of the government will be cut by 5 to 30%.
The meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, was attended by Federal Ministers Attaullah Tarar, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ali Parvez Malik and Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, including the Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other senior officials.
The meeting reviewed the impact of petroleum product prices and the implementation of government savings measures in detail.
Officials briefed the meeting and said that the government has imposed a complete ban on the purchase of new government vehicles, while teleconferencing and online meetings will be given priority for government affairs.
During the meeting, it was also informed that for the next two months, the salaries of federal ministers, advisors and special assistants will also be allocated for public welfare.
The Prime Minister directed that a complete ban on foreign visits by ministers, ministers of state, special assistants and government officers remain in place. The implementation of these measures will be monitored by the relevant secretaries, and a report will be submitted to the review committee on a daily basis.
According to the announcement, government representatives in government corporations and other institutions will not even charge fees for attending board meetings, and this amount will also be included in the government savings.
The government has decided that the fuel consumption of government vehicles will be reduced by 50 percent for the next two months, while a third-party audit will also be conducted on the decision to ground 60 percent of government vehicles.
The Prime Minister has also directed Pakistani embassies around the world to celebrate Pakistan Day, i.e., March 23, with utmost simplicity.
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