With the US-Israel war on Iran triggering a global fuel crisis and a 20 per cent hike in petrol and diesel prices at home, the prime minister announced a wide-ranging austerity and savings plan on Monday. The measures include a 50 per cent reduction in fuel allocations for government vehicles and a 60 per cent cut in government department vehicles allowed on the roads for the next two months. Members of the federal cabinet, advisers and special assistants will not draw salaries for the next two months, while members of parliament will face a 25 per cent salary cut. All government departments will reduce their expenditures by 20 per cent and all foreign visits by state officials are banned, except for those deemed essential. Official dinners and Iftar parties have also been banned. Half of all government employees will work from home on alternate days, excluding essential services, and government offices will operate only four days a week. This does not apply to banks. The private sector is advised but not mandated to implement similar protocols. All schools will also be closed for two weeks starting at the end of the current week and colleges and universities are shifting to online classes.
It is nice to see that the government and its workings appear to be the main focus of this austerity plan, but it is not as though regular people have come out unscathed. The country’s government offices are not known for their speed during the best of times and the fact that they will now be working a day less is rather ominous. And while the work-from-home and school-closure measures might bring some relief from high fuel prices, they also bring the nation’s digital accessibility woes back into focus. Our digital infrastructure is still not broad or reliable enough to enable everyone to work or study from home. That being said, the most urgent task at hand is conserving fuel, which fewer people and vehicles on the roads ought to achieve. While President Trump has hinted that the war on Iran might be about to come to an end, it is hard to put too much stock in his words. With that in mind, it is quite possible that these measures could last longer than is currently planned and further measures might also be possible.
However, while the long-term might be uncertain, the quick announcement of a plan at the top level has brought some clarity to the present. This contrasts with the usual approach to national emergencies: wait until things get out of hand, then act. It is also good to see that the response of the provinces seems broadly aligned with that of the centre, with Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh passing fuel conservation measures of their own, including cuts in fuel allowances for government vehicles and school closures. One can only wonder why such proactive planning and coordination are displayed only during a crisis. On a broader level, it must be noted that this is the second time in less than eight years that such nationwide emergency measures have had to be implemented. While what we are seeing now is nowhere near the level of the Covid-19 era, the re-emergence of similar measures highlights that we are moving towards an era of more frequent crises, particularly for countries in the Global South. While other countries in the region, like Bangladesh, have launched fuel conservation measures of their own, it might be time to consider regional disaster management and coordination bodies that can help poorer countries build resilience to global shocks by helping each other.
