By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Fuel Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures on Wednesday recommended extending the applicability of specific austerity measures until June 30, 2026, besides extending the closing time of standalone grocery and kiryana stores to 10:00 PM throughout the week.
In a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the committee reviewed several cases submitted by various ministries and divisions seeking exemptions from the applicability of certain austerity measures and finalized its recommendations accordingly.
It was decided that consular attestation services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujrat, and Lahore would remain operational on Fridays as well for public facilitation.
The committee recommended extending the applicability period of those additional austerity measures whose expiry date had been notified as June 13, 2026, until June 30, 2026.
It also decided to extend the closing time of standalone grocery and kiryana stores to 10:00 PM on all days of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays.
The meeting was attended by the ministers for petroleum, climate change, and IT and Telecom, the special assistant to PM (SAPM) on finance, the special assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister (SADPM), the federal secretaries of cabinet, commerce, petroleum, and IT & Telecom, as well as senior officials from the relevant ministries and divisions.
