The government is extending austerity measures until June 30, easing opening hours

The government on Wednesday extended a series of austerity measures until June 30, allowing independent grocery and kiryana shops to remain open until 10 p.m. 10 pm after a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.

Earlier this month, the federal government relaxed business closing hours as part of revised energy conservation measures, citing rising temperatures and longer summer days. Under the changes announced on June 3, shops, markets and malls were allowed to remain open until 21.00, while restaurants and food shops could operate until Marriage halls and tents were allowed to remain open until

The decisions were made during a meeting of the Committee on Monitoring and Implementation of Fuel Savings and Additional Savings Measures, which also considered extending measures due to expire on 13 June.

According to an official statement, the committee reviewed several cases submitted by various ministries and departments seeking exemptions from the application of certain austerity measures and finalized its recommendations.

“It was also decided that consular attestation services in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujrat and Lahore would also remain operational on Fridays for public facilitation,” the statement added.

Read: The government is revising the market timings with reference to longer daylight hours and rising temperatures

The committee further recommended extending the duration of some austerity measures set to expire later this week.

“The committee further recommended extending the period of application of the additional austerity measures whose expiry date had been notified on June 13, 2026 to June 30, 2026,” the statement said.

In a move affecting retailers, the committee approved revised opening hours for independent convenience stores and convenience stores.

“The committee also decided to extend the closing time of independent grocery and Kiryana shops to 10 pm on all days of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays,” according to the statement.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Petroleum, Climate Change and IT & Telecom; the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance; the Special Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister (SADPM); the Cabinet Secretaries, Commerce, Petroleum and IT & Telecom; as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant ministries and departments.

Read more: ICT imposes early closing of markets

Austerity

The cuts came after a sharp escalation in tensions between Iran, Israel and the United States disrupted global energy markets. Following military exchanges and Iran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, international oil prices rose, driving up Pakistan’s import bill and putting pressure on domestic fuel prices.

In response, the government raised oil prices several times, with the sharpest increases recorded in April. Officials said the adjustments were necessary to reflect higher international oil prices and ensure fuel supplies remained uninterrupted.

In March, the federal government introduced a series of austerity measures across Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to curb fuel consumption and reduce energy costs. These included earlier closing times for markets and commercial centres, an extra weekly holiday for government offices, cuts in free fuel allocations for ministers and restrictions on the use of official vehicles.

The restrictions were temporarily eased ahead of Eid, but were reinstated from April 1 as the government tried to deal with the impact of the ongoing fuel crisis.