ISLAMABAD:
The Senate has committed Rs1.436 billion in savings to the national exchequer through an austerity and expenditure rationalization program, exceeding the target prescribed by the finance department by 500 percent and setting what officials termed a new benchmark for fiscal discipline.
The amount represents 15.9 percent of the Upper House’s total budget for 2025-26, according to a statement from the Senate Secretariat on Monday.
The expenditure rationalization program had been spearheaded by Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani in his own office before it was extended to the entire secretariat. Gilani said that Rs1.436 billion. represented “actual, realized savings” and not expected cuts or deferred liabilities.
Among the measures, the Senate suspended 17 of the 18 procurement projects approved by its Finance Committee. Recruitment and other non-essential expenses were rationalized, administrative costs were reduced and operating costs were brought under strict control.
The official transport fleet was “significantly entrenched”, fuel allocations were “severely limited” and use was subject to “enhanced supervision”.
The provision of refreshments at official meetings and functions was discontinued, while committee proceedings were “increasingly moved” to digital and virtual platforms to reduce logistics and hospitality costs. Similarly, all non-essential foreign visits were suspended in line with the broader goal of cost containment.
Despite an allocation of Rs 60 million under the budget allocation for new vehicles this year, “not a single vehicle was procured”, the statement said. In addition, the Senate Finance Committee, on the chairman’s suggestion, decided to waive the grant for replacement of condemned official vehicles in the next financial year, a move expected to save another Rs 140 million.
“Public office is a sacred trust,” Gilani was quoted as saying. He declared that the austerity drive was not a one-off initiative but part of a continuing commitment to “responsible governance and fiscal prudence and the highest standards of public service”.
“Every rupee saved is a rupee returned to the people of Pakistan in whose trust public resources are held,” the chairman said.
In releasing the figures to the public, the House of Lords said it aimed to promote confidence in state institutions at a time when “financial prudence and efficient use of public funds are national imperatives”.
“These savings are the cumulative result of sustained reforms and disciplined financial management carried out over time. By placing these numbers on the public record, the Senate seeks to promote transparency, accountability and public trust in government institutions,” the statement read.
