In the name of austerity, burden of 15 more people on Pakistani exchequer

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has formed a 15-member committee to minimize the burden of taxes on the people in the mini-budget, to reduce the fiscal deficit, and to reduce government expenditure. Commentators say that if the prime minister wants to cut spending, he should first cut his ship-sized 77-member cabinet.

To reduce the fiscal deficit and meet the demands of the IMF, the Prime Minister has decided to launch an austerity drive and in this regard has formed a 15-member committee under the chairmanship of former bureaucrat Nasir Mehmood Khosa.

Apart from the Finance Minister, the 15-member committee also includes Zubair Khan, Qaiser Bengali and Farrukh Saleem. The committee will prepare recommendations regarding cost reduction and submit a report to the Prime Minister. The committee will also review future hikes in electricity and gas rates and additional tax measures.

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A notification issued by the finance ministry said that the committee would “take into account the fiscal challenges facing the country, ensure conservation of resources and rational use of public money, as well as expenditure to reduce fiscal deficit.” will take austerity measures to reduce

The committee is headed by former bureaucrat Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Minister of State for Finance Dr. Ayesha Ghos Pasha, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Government Performance and Finance, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Establishment, Cabinet Secretaries, Finance, Power and Cabinet Division, apart from the four Chief secretaries of provinces, Chairman Capital Development Authority, Dr. Qaiser Bengali, Dr. Farrukh Saleem, Dr. Zubair Khan, and Naveed Iftikhar are included.

The committee will make proposals to reduce public expenditure and ensure fiscal discipline, review measures to make government operations more cost-effective, and make recommendations for creating smart infrastructure.

The committee will also seek suggestions from ministries and divisions regarding austerity measures, with proposals to cut costs at the top. The committee will submit its recommendations to the Prime Minister for consideration within 15 days.

Analysts have criticized the committee formed by the Prime Minister. For this, it is taking incentives separately from public tax money. Every month, the cabinet members are shelling out billions of rupees for petrol, electricity and mobile phone bills.

Analysts say that the Prime Minister should examine the surrounding environment before forming such committees where there are heaps of expenses, thousands of crates of mineral water which does not cost a single rupee to be produced at high prices on a daily basis. are bought. He says according to Khawaja Muhammad Asif, “There is no shame, there is no modesty.”