Pakistan govt extends closing time for grocery stores

Pakistan government has extended the closing time for grocery stores to facilitate the masses.

The decision was taken in  meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Fuel Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, in Islamabad.

The Committee reviewed several cases submitted by various Ministries and Divisions seeking exemptions from the applicability of certain austerity measures and finalized its recommendations accordingly.

It was also decided that Consular Attestation services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujrat, and Lahore would remain operational on Fridays as well for public facilitation.

Read more: Senate returns Rs1.436bn to treasury after austerity drive

The Committee further recommended extending the applicability period of those additional austerity measures whose expiry date had been notified as 13th June until 30th June.

It also decided to extend the closing time of standalone grocery and kiryana stores to 10:00 PM on all days of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays.

The Senate of Pakistan has returned Rs1.436 billion to the national exchequer after implementing a wide-ranging austerity and expenditure rationalisation drive under the directions of Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.

According to an official statement, the savings exceed the target set by the Finance Division by 500 percent and account for 15.9 percent of the Senate’s total budget for the fiscal year 2025–26.

The austerity measures were initiated by the chairman from his own office and later extended across the Senate Secretariat. A comprehensive framework of expenditure controls and efficiency reforms was introduced to institutionalise financial discipline.