NA surrenders over Rs470m into national exchequer to support govt’s austerity drive

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has “surrendered Rs472.1 million” to the treasury as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s austerity measures, said a statement by the NA Secretariat on Friday.

The statement said that austerity measures in the lower house were being carried out under the directives of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

“In compliance with austerity directives and in support of prudent governance, the secretariat has effected a Rs21 million reduction in the salaries of Members of the National Assembly, which has been deposited into the Prime Minister’s Austerity Fund 2026 to further contribute to national financial resources,” added the statement.

The development came after PM Shehbaz announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.

As part of the contingency plan, the government introduced wide-ranging steps to reduce fuel consumption, including a four-day working week for government offices, a 50 per cent reduction in fuel allocation for official vehicles, and work-from-home arrangements for half of the staff in public and private offices, excluding essential services.

The NA Secretariat added that a plan has been mapped out to achieve overall savings of up to Rs2 billion through rationalised expenditure and enhanced resource management over the remainder of the fiscal year.

“Following the speaker’s directive, 75pc of official vehicles have been grounded to save fuel and energy,” it added.

It further stated that the “National Assembly Secretariat is meeting its electricity needs through the Green Parliament Solar System“.

To further reduce expenses, 200 employees of the secretariat are on duty at the NA, added the statement.

“Further contributions to the National Treasury are expected as these cost-saving initiatives continue to be implemented and expanded.”

Earlier in March, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani approved the surrender of the Rs265 million to the national exchequer in efforts to support the government’s austerity drive.