PM Shehbaz approves 5–30% salary deductions for government employees

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday approved salary deductions of 5 to 30 percent for employees of state-owned enterprises and autonomous institutions working under government patronage.

The prime minister directed that relevant secretaries personally ensure the implementation and monitoring of the government’s austerity and simplicity measures and submit daily reports to the review committee.

PM Shehbaz chaired a meeting to review the impact of petroleum product prices due to the current regional situation and to assess the implementation of the government’s cost-saving initiatives.

During the meeting, policy measures aimed at stabilizing petroleum products prices and the progress and impact of the government’s cost-saving initiatives were discussed.

During the meeting, officials discussed policy measures to stabilize petroleum prices and reviewed the progress and impact of austerity measures. The PM’s office stated in a press release that savings generated through these measures would be fully utilized to provide relief to the public.

It was decided in the meeting that, similar to the earlier government employees’ mechanism, salaries of the employees of state-owned enterprises and autonomous institutions working under government patronage would be deducted in stages from 5 to 30 percent, and the saved amount would be used for the provision of public relief.

The meeting also decided that in corporations and other institutions where government representatives sit on boards, they would not receive board meeting fees, and the amounts would be added to the savings pool.

The meeting was attended by Ministers Attaullah Tarar, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other senior officials.

The prime minister further directed all Pakistani embassies around the globe to celebrate the Pakistan Day (23 March) with simplicity.

It was also decided that the four-day workweek would not apply to law-enforcement agencies or the Federal Board of Revenue, and they would continue to perform their duties according to the existing schedule.

For the next two months, a 50 percent reduction would be made in the fuel allocated to official vehicles of all departments, whereas a decision to ground 60 percent of the official vehicles would be subject to a third-party audit.

The meeting was also briefed on the complete ban on purchase of new government’s vehicles and the suspension of all other government procurements.

The meeting was informed that for the next two months, the salaries of cabinet members, ministers, advisers, and special assistants would also be utilized for the public welfare.

While a complete ban on foreign visits by ministers, advisers, and special assistants would remain in place, with teleconferencing and online meetings being preferred instead, it was added.

The prime minister directed that the ban on foreign visits of the government officers, federal ministers, ministers of state and special assistants would remain in force.

وزیرِ اعظم محمد شہباز شریف کی زیرِ صدا رت خطے میں صورتحال کے پیش نظر پیٹرولیم مصنوعات کی قیمتوں پر اثر اور حکومتی بچت اقدامات کے نفاذ کا جائزہ اجلاس

اجلاس میں پیٹرولیم مصنوعات کی قیمتوں میں استحکام کیلئے پالیسی اقدامات اور حکومت کی جانب سے بچت اقدامات کے نفاذ پر پیش رفت و انکے… pic.twitter.com/24vvYI76th

— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) March 14, 2026