Islamabad, March 10, 2026 – Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, on Tuesday directed federal ministries and government institutions to submit photographs of vehicles taken off the road under the government’s austerity policy to the Cabinet Division as part of strict monitoring of cost-cutting measures.
The directive was issued while chairing a review meeting at the Prime Minister’s House on the implementation of the government’s austerity and energy conservation initiatives introduced to reduce public expenditure and manage energy consumption.
The prime minister instructed all federal ministries and divisions to strictly implement the government’s austerity policy, emphasizing that economic stability must be maintained despite prevailing regional and global challenges.
Friday declared additional weekly holiday
During the meeting, the prime minister approved making Friday an additional weekly holiday as part of a broader strategy to conserve energy and reduce operational costs in government offices.
Sharif said the government was making every effort to maintain economic stability in challenging international conditions, stressing that effective enforcement of austerity and energy-saving measures was essential for this objective.
Ishaq Dar-led committee to monitor implementation
The meeting was informed that a special committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been established to oversee implementation of the austerity measures.
The committee will review progress daily and submit reports to the government, ensuring close monitoring of compliance across ministries and institutions.
Third-party audit of austerity measures
To ensure transparency and effectiveness, the prime minister also directed that austerity steps taken by government departments should undergo third-party audits to evaluate their impact.
He instructed ministries and divisions to fully enforce simplicity, austerity, and energy conservation measures within their respective departments.
As part of monitoring compliance, Sharif directed ministries and institutions to send photographs of vehicles withdrawn from official use under the austerity plan to the Cabinet Division.
Ministries to submit regular progress reports
Officials told the meeting that ministries would submit daily and weekly reports to the special committee regarding the implementation of energy-saving measures and workforce management strategies.
The prime minister also asked ministries to provide reports to the Prime Minister’s Office on steps taken to improve work-from-home arrangements for government employees.
The meeting was attended by senior cabinet members, including Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, along with senior government officials.