ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says that 150,000 vacant posts in the federal government have been eliminated.
While holding a press conference in Islamabad, he said that there is an effort to gradually eliminate these institutions. Sixty percent of the vacant posts have been eliminated, which is about 150,000.
Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that service-related posts are being outsourced. He said that the economy is moving in the right direction, and steps are being taken to reduce government expenditure.
The Federal Minister mentioned that, in June 2024, the Prime Minister had formed a committee related to the rightsizing of the federal government.
Muhammad Aurangzeb questioned whether institutions that are no longer useful should be retained. “Work is being done on this,” he said. “We are evaluating the usefulness of 43 ministries and their 400 departments to decide whether to retain them or not. Five to six departments will be eliminated at a time.”
He stated that the purpose of the committee’s TORs was to reduce the expenses of the federal government. The scope of the committee included 45 ministries, which had 400 affiliated institutions. In previous years, attempts were also made to reduce the size of the federal government.
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The Finance Minister explained, “We decided to gradually reduce the size of the federal government. We are advancing the process of reforms in the FBR and have also considered in detail what to do with assets and human resources.”
Muhammad Aurangzeb added, “I have just discussed 15 to 16 ministries. We have the next six months to complete the rightsizing of 42 ministries and their institutions by June 2025.”
He further said, “We have abolished one ministry and will complete the work for 42 ministries and affiliated institutions before June 30 this year. In the first six months, we focused on macroeconomic stability. Now, we are in a strong position regarding macroeconomic stability.”
The Federal Minister also mentioned, “Our focus is now on stable growth. Attempts have been made many times before to reduce the size of the federal government.
We are working to reduce the federal government’s expenditure of Rs 900 billion. What is the reason for keeping hospitals under the federal government? Hospitals should be handed over to the provinces. We are informing you about what we have done and what we plan to do next.”
