ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced Tuesday that the federal government has decided to cut the number of affiliated agencies in half, cutting 150,000 jobs, as part of a broad drive to reduce costs and efficiency.
“We are reducing the size of the federal government step by step. So far, 80 departments have been consolidated into 40,” Aurangzeb said at a press conference highlighting the government’s target of completing these reforms by June 2025.
He added that 60% of vacant positions have been eliminated, which is equivalent to 150,000 government jobs.
He said the right-sizing was part of the restructuring initiative launched in mid-2024 by a committee formed under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to rationalize expenditure and improve performance.
According to the minister, the committee was to investigate 43 ministries and their subordinate agencies. He said the federal government’s annual expenditure on these departments was Rs 900 billion.
He said the six ministries that the government had initially selected for right-sizing included Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, States and Border Regions (SAFRON), IT and Telecom, Industries and Reproduction, National Health Services and Capital Development Authority (CAD). .
He said that the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON are being merged and the CAD is being abolished.
According to the minister, in the second phase, of the 60 institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Division of Commerce, Housing and Public Works and National Research on Food Security, 25 institutions will be abolished, 20 will be reduced in size and nine will be merged. .
“We took four ministries in the second phase and after that, now we have taken five more ministries,” he said, adding that those selected for the third phase were the federal ministries of education and vocational training, information and broadcasting, energy division, finance division, and national heritage and culture.
He said that in recent years there had been work to reduce the size of the federal government, but “the problem was that if you wanted to do everything possible at once, it couldn’t be done, so we decided to do it.” gradually, in stages.”
The minister said the federal government also plans to transfer hospitals to provincial administrations. “It’s not just about reducing costs; “It’s about improving efficiency,” he said.
Aurangzeb also said that the plan was to shift Pakistan’s economic framework towards export-led growth, backed by digitalization and technology initiatives, and the prime minister is expected to inaugurate a new technology-related program in Karachi soon.
He said the government’s focus on macroeconomic stability helped key indicators improve and Pakistan was in a promising economic juncture due to various government efforts.
The size of the Pakistani government came into focus after the sharp increase in expenses and questions were raised about it.
The current government has been taking measures and reducing the size and expenses. Last year it abolished the traditional pension system for government employees and reduced pension benefits for current employees.
