Urgent Suggestions for National Austerity Measures

Due to the large scale damages caused by the recent floods the food security of Pakistan has been breached severely and government needs immediate food imports to firstly, save the starving about 40 million flood affected population and secondly, to protect the remaining about 180 plus million population from the brutal inflationary impact, on the prices of essential food items.

In this regard, the government of Pakistan needs huge sums of foreign exchange to save the 22+ crore population of Pakistan from extreme hardships of food shortages, for which our government must immediately notify TONIGHT the following measures to conserve and save the precious foreign exchange:

No Pakistani official including the President and the PM shall visit abroad and all international meetings should be addressed via the video link or the concerned diplomat posted  in that foreign country should attend those meetings.

Pakistan should instantly notify to all the lenders that with immediate effect their servicing of loans are being suspended to save the lives of the crores of starving flood affected people, which was recently personally witnessed in Pakistan, by the Secretary General of the UNO.

All loss making government companies and units must be shut down instantly, except the PIAC, which must be privatised on top most priority.

All foreign missions with the exception of extremely important offices must immediately be closed temporarily and staff called

back.

In order to save on precious foreign exchange energy bill the following steps are recommended:

~Wearing of coat/jacket and necktie must be banned for all civil government servants

~ Working should be reduced to four days a week from Monday to Thursday and on other days work from home can performed, if required

~ Office working hours should be reset to be effective from 7 AM to 2 PM without break

~ All shops and markets must close by 5 PM and malls by 6 PM

~ All schools must be made legally bound to provide bus services for their pupils pick and drop from home to educational institutions and back

~ Free or existing level facilities of fuel, electricity, power and gas to ALL the parliamentarians, government officials and power and gas companies must be reduced to 25 % of the existing limits.

~ All the ministries, divisions and departments at the federal and provincial levels must be immediately reduced by 50%

~ Not more than 10 Ministers/Advisors/Special Assistants/Spokespersons should be allowed at the federal and provincial levels in the respective cabinets

~ Video Conference facility should be availed for all meetings of federal and provincial governments

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

+ 92 321 940 2157

Lahore.