ISLAMABAD:
The Senate has delivered savings of Rs 1,436 crore to the national exchequer through a program of austerity and expenditure rationalization, surpassing the target prescribed by the Finance Division by 500 per cent and setting what officials called 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 issued by the Senate Secretariat on Monday.
The spending rationalization program had been led by Senate President Yousaf Raza Gilani within his own office before extending it to the entire secretariat. Gilani said the Rs 1,436 crore represented “actual savings realized” and not projected 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 overheads were reduced, and operating costs were tightly controlled.
The official transport fleet was “virtually grounded”, fuel allocations were “strictly limited” and usage was subject to “enhanced oversight”.
The provision of refreshments at meetings and official functions was suspended, while committee proceedings were “increasingly shifted” 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 spending restraint.
Despite an allocation of Rs 60 crore under the budget allocation for new vehicles this year, “not a single vehicle was procured”, the statement said. Also, on the proposal of the President, the Senate Finance Committee decided to waive allocation for replacement of disabled official vehicles in the next fiscal year, a move that is expected to save an additional Rs 140 crore.
“Public office is a sacred fiduciary trust,” Gilani said. He stated that the austerity campaign was not an isolated initiative but part of an ongoing 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 are public resources,” the president said.
In making the figures public, the upper house said it aimed to promote confidence in state institutions at a time when “economic prudence and the efficient use of public funds are national imperatives.”
“These savings are the cumulative result of sustained reforms and disciplined financial management undertaken over time. By making these figures public, the Senate seeks to promote transparency, accountability and public trust in state institutions,” the statement reads.
