Dar-led panel proposes extending austerity measures until June 30

ISLAMABAD: A government committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has recommended extending the countrywide austerity drive and fuel conservation measures until June 30, according to a statement issued by the deputy prime minister’s office.

The measures were introduced on March 9 after what the statement described as a global oil crisis triggered by the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. The government had announced what it called unprecedented austerity steps to manage the fallout from the crisis. Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had already approved an extension of the restrictions until June 13.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Dar-led committee reviewed requests from various ministries seeking exemptions from the application of certain austerity measures and finalised its recommendations on those cases, the statement said. It also decided that consular attestation services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujrat and Lahore would remain available on Fridays as well to facilitate the public.

The move comes after previously announced austerity steps reduced the working week for government offices to four days, from Monday to Thursday. The committee further recommended extending the closing time of grocery and kiryana stores to 10pm throughout the week.

Measures announced in March

Among the steps announced in March was a 50 per cent cut in fuel allowance for official vehicles, while operational vehicles such as ambulances and public buses were exempted. The package also included grounding 60pc of official vehicles and imposing a complete ban on foreign visits by ministers and government officials, except in cases considered essential in the country’s interest.

The statement also noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz had assigned the Intelligence Bureau to conduct a third-party audit of the implementation of the austerity measures.

Those present at the meeting included the ministers for petroleum, climate change, and information technology and telecom; the special assistant to the prime minister on finance; the special assistant to the deputy prime minister; the secretaries of cabinet, commerce, petroleum, and IT and telecom; and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant ministries and divisions.