PM announces 5-30pc cut in salaries of SOEs employees & autonomous institutions

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday announced a reduction of 5 percent to 30 percent in the salaries of employees of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and autonomous institutions under government supervision.

Sharif announced this while chairing a high-level meeting to review the impact of regional developments on petroleum product prices and to assess the implementation of government savings measures.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that all funds saved through these measures would be used exclusively for public welfare initiatives.

The meeting also decided that government representatives on corporate boards will no longer receive board participation fees, with the savings to be added to the government’s public relief fund.

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Law enforcement agencies and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will continue to operate according to their existing schedules and will not implement the recently announced four-day work week applied to other government offices.

Sharif instructed all Pakistani embassies worldwide to observe the 23 March national celebrations with the utmost simplicity. In addition, the meeting approved a third-party audit over the next two months to examine the 50 percent reduction in fuel allocations for government vehicles and the grounding of 60 percent of the government’s fleet.

The Prime Minister was also briefed on a ban on the purchase of new government vehicles and restrictions on other government procurements.

Officials informed the Prime Minister that, for the next two months, 25 percent of the salaries of cabinet members, ministers, advisers, and special assistants would be redirected to support public welfare.

They added that a total ban on foreign travel for ministers, advisers, special assistants, and other government officers will be imposed, with teleconferencing and online meetings prioritised.

The Prime Minister emphasised that all austerity and simplicity measures must be implemented diligently and monitored by the respective secretaries, who will report daily to a dedicated review committee.

The meeting also reviewed ongoing policy measures to stabilise petroleum product prices and assess the effectiveness of government savings initiatives.

Officials stressed that all austerity measures, including salary reductions, travel restrictions, and operational cutbacks, are designed to maximise resources for public relief amid current economic challenges.

Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiyani, the Chairman of the FBR, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026