WEB DESK
Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday announced, following approval from the federal cabinet, cost cutting measures – starting with lowering the overall energy bill of the country – by limiting working hours of commercial businesses.
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Addressing a press conference in Islamabad following the meeting of the federal cabinet, Khawaja Asif stated that all markets, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants will be closed at 8pm across the country.
Flanked by Federal Information Minister Marriyam Aurangzeb and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, Asif further said that marriage halls will be closed by 10 pm.
Pharmacies have been exempted from these restrictions.
Moreover, he said that the government was mulling two days per week work from home for 20% of government staff on rotation basis apart from other cost saving measures such as replacing high energy consuming appliances such as bulbs and fans.
He said that the culture of late night shopping, which consumes an enormous amount of power, can no longer be tolerated given Pakistan’s meager resources.
Markets should no longer remain open until 1am or 2am.
“There is a need to change our lifestyle to deal with the brewing energy crisis,” he said.
However, a final policy on that is expected to be unveiled on Thursday after the federal government takes all provincial governments into confidence.
To reduce the fuel import bill, he said that the government was mulling plans to launch E-bikes and even explore means to convert existing bikes to work on electricity.
He explained that the government has been compelled to take these decisions because they do not have sufficient resources to deal with Pakistan’s rising energy needs – which are primarily import-based.
He expressed the hope that the country’s traders, stakeholders and businessmen would cooperate with the measures adopted by the government given their meager resources.
New policy is a national saving scheme: Qamar Zaman Kaira
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said the government’s new policy is a national saving scheme and this would consider the reason for success across the globe.
This policy will bring stability in many affairs, he added.
He assured that no strict actions will be taken against traders and stakeholders but the key measures are necessary to adopt.
