Rs65.8 crore austerity savings reported in 2 years...

Summary

• Islamabad:  Pakistan’s federal government reported savings of Rs65.8 crore under its austerity programme over two financial years, but the figures are still awaiting full audit verification, according to a written reply by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the National Assembly.
• The government reported savings of Rs27.34 crore in financial year 2024 to 25 and Rs38.47 crore in 2025 to 26, while the audit for the first year remains under process and the audit for the second year has yet to be conducted.
• The government has continued the austerity programme for a third financial year, but the final audit findings will be important in establishing how much the measures actually saved and whether the reported savings were achieved through lasting reductions in public spending.

AI Generated Summary

Islamabad:  Pakistan’s federal government reported savings of Rs65.8 crore under its austerity programme over two financial years, but the figures are still awaiting full audit verification, according to a written reply by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the National Assembly. The government reported savings of Rs27.34 crore in financial year 2024 to 25 and Rs38.47 crore in 2025 to 26, while the audit for the first year remains under process and the audit for the second year has yet to be conducted.

The figures raise questions about the actual financial impact of the government’s austerity drive, which includes restrictions on official vehicle purchases, procurement, foreign travel and the creation of new government posts. The question was raised by MNA Sahibzada Sibghatullah Khan, who sought details of the savings, an independent review of the results and information about how the money had been used.

The ministry wise tables attached to the reply show that, during the financial year 2024 to 25, the final budget for the listed expenditure categories was around Rs21.87 billion, against actual spending of Rs21.59 billion. This left reported savings of Rs273.41 million.