The Cabinet Committee Suggests to Eliminate 150000 Vacant Government Posts as part of its sweeping plan to decrease government size and expenses. The committee’s proposal includes eliminating 150,000 vacant positions, banning contingency recruitment, and outsourcing non-core services such as cleaning and janitorial work. The proposed reforms aim to gradually phase out numerous positions in grades 1 to 16 across federal government departments.
Chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the committee’s meeting focused on right-sizing federal departments to trim public sector size and expenditures. Finance Minister-led discussions resulted in recommendations to streamline operations within five federal ministries: the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the Ministry of Industry and Production, and the Ministry of National Health Services.
Key proposals include merging the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan with the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), closing 28 institutions, and merging 12 institutions within these ministries. Additionally, the Ministry of Privatisation and other departments will be reassigned to federal units.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that these reforms must receive federal Cabinet approval and stressed that curbing government spending is a top priority. He also directed that institutions failing to meet performance standards and adding financial strain to the national budget be terminated or privatized swiftly.
In a bid to improve oversight, the Prime Minister announced that the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) will be brought under the Prime Minister’s Office for better management.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, and other senior government officials.
