Ministers voluntarily agreed to the measures, he said.
Islamabad:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said today that the Pakistan government would cut allowances and travel expenses of ministers and advisers as part of an austerity drive that would save 200 billion rupees ($766 million) annually.
The belt-tightening comes as Islamabad – which is facing a balance of payments crisis – struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure $1 billion in funds late last year on policy issues. pending since.
Mr Sharif said all federal ministries and government offices have been instructed to cut spending by 15% and asked his ministers and advisers to forego salaries, allowances, luxury cars, foreign trips and business class travel.
Ministers voluntarily agreed to the measures, he said.
“With these austerity measures, we will save Rs 200 billion annually,” Sharif told a press conference in Islamabad.
Mr Sharif said the South Asian country hopes to secure funding from the IMF soon, adding the austerity measures were part of the requirements the lender asked Pakistan to meet before finalizing a deal.
Officials say that the talks between Pakistan and the IMF are about to end this week.
Prior to the talks, the IMF had asked Pakistan to take several pre-emptive actions, including rolling back subsidies, increasing energy tariffs and raising additional revenue.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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