'Collective efforts' can steer Pakistan out of crisis, says PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan can come out of the current challenging phase through collective efforts.

In an early morning tweet, the premier said that “amid economic difficulties, the expression of solidarity and sharing the burden is the governing spirit of austerity measures of our government”.

Thanking the coalition partners for their support, Shehbaz added that he will personally supervise the implementation of the austerity plan that was unveiled by the prime minister yesterday.

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The ambitious austerity plan at the federal government level is expected to save Rs200 billion annually by slashing expenditures.

A day earlier, PM Shehbaz had announced a broad range of measures aiming to tighten the government’s belt but warned people to brace for more price hikes due to the tough conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The premier spoke to the media himself to unveil the austerity measures approved by the federal cabinet and expressed the hope that the government would be able to take the masses out of the current economic conditions.

The highlight of the government’s austerity measures is the withdrawal of salaries and perks of the prime minister, minister’s special assistants and advisers, along with a 15% cut in the expenses of all government departments.

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Moreover, the premier also requested the chief justices of the Supreme Court as well as all the high courts and the chief ministers of the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to take similar decisions.

The cabinet also decided to make the data of Toshakhana (the government repository of gifts) public on the website. In the future, Shehbaz said that the prime minister would not be able to keep any gift worth more than $300 – or around Rs80,000 of the present day.

During the media talk, the PM also said that the negotiations with the IMF were in the final stage and “we will meet all the conditions to continue the lending programme.”