Government Forms 15-Person Austerity Committee

The federal government has established a 15-member National Austerity Committee in order to cut public spending and to finalise suggestions for five primary terms of reference (ToRs) to guarantee "austerity" at the government level.

The National Austerity Committee was established on Thursday, according to a notification from the finance ministry, and Nasir Mahmood Khosa, a retired civil servant and one of the PTI's candidates for the position of interim chief minister of Punjab, will serve as its chairman.

The committee's chairperson will be Nasir Khosa, while Dr. Aisha Pasha, Minister of State for Finance, has been appointed as co-convener.

The committee's TORs are:

To limit public spending and uphold fiscal restraint,

to reduce the size of the government and implement initiatives to reduce costs in government operations

In order to create the best and most intelligent organisational structures, including an evaluation of SOEs and businesses with duplicate or overlapping responsibilities,

To solicit suggestions from departments and ministries regarding spending cuts and other austerity measures, as well as any other matter that is pertinent or incidental to the achievement of austerity in government operations.