Govt set to prolong austerity regime until end-June

The government's austerity and fuel conservation measures are likely to remain in place until June 30 after a high-level committee recommended extending the restrictions beyond their current expiry date of June 13.

The recommendation emerged from a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Fuel Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Alongside the proposed extension, the committee approved relaxation in operating hours for standalone grocery and kiryana stores, allowing them to remain open until 10pm on all days of the week, including weekends.

The committee also decided to maintain consular attestation services on Fridays at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Gujrat, citing the need to facilitate the public.

During the meeting, members assessed the implementation of ongoing energy conservation initiatives and considered requests submitted by various ministries and divisions seeking exemptions from certain austerity restrictions.

After reviewing the cases, the committee finalised its recommendations regarding the requested exemptions.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers for Petroleum, Climate Change, and Information Technology and Telecommunication, along with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Finance, the Special Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister, secretaries of key ministries and senior government officials from the foreign affairs ministry and other departments.

The committee is responsible for overseeing compliance with the government's fuel-saving and expenditure-control measures introduced as part of broader efforts to manage energy consumption and public sector spending.