ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed 15-member national austerity committee to reduce government expenditures and budget deficit. National austerity committee will be headed by former principal secretary Nasir Khosa and Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha. Government also issued terms of reference (ToRs) for national austerity committee.

Committee will forward recommendations for reducing government expenditures, fiscal management and other steps to save national resources.

According to ToRs, committee will compile recommendations for structural reforms and review losses of state institutions. Committee will forward its recommendations to PM Shehbaz Sharif within 15 days.

Finance Ministry will provide secretarial support to austerity committee. According to notification, chief secretaries of four provinces were also included in committee. Other members of austerity committee include special assistant on finance, establishment adviser and special aide on government performance, CDA chairman and secretaries of finance, Cabinet, power and housing. Moreover, economic experts including Qaiser Bangali, Zubair Khan, Farrukh Salim and governance specialist Naveed Iftikhar were also included in committee.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 21 2023

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