The government briefed the IMF to lay off surplus workers and consolidate ministries to decrease spending.

Plans include a golden handshake for excess staff, the merger of ministries, and the elimination of empty positions; the IMF challenges the justification for keeping federal ministries in sectors that are legally under provincial competence.
The government has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of its intention to fire off excess personnel under a golden handshake policy as part of attempts to reduce spending amid worries about low tax collection. The IMF has also questioned the justification for maintaining federal ministries in areas that are legally under provincial control, according to The Express Tribune.
During a briefing on government reduction, the Cabinet Division discussed intentions to modify the Civil Servants Act of 1973, which presently shields employees from termination.

The change would allow for layoffs, bringing the civil bureaucracy structure in line with the military, which only keeps top-performing officers.
Officials informed the IMF that prior reduction initiatives, such as eliminating empty posts and combining 10 tiny departments, resulted in little savings of Rs17 billion. Meanwhile, the recent increase of the federal cabinet, which now numbers more than 50 ministers, challenges cost-cutting attempts.
Officials informed the IMF that prior reduction initiatives, such as eliminating empty posts and combining 10 tiny departments, resulted in little savings of Rs17 billion. Meanwhile, the recent increase of the federal cabinet, which now numbers more than 50 ministers, challenges cost-cutting attempts.

The government has recommended deleting thousands of empty posts from grades 1 to 22, with the goal of saving more than Rs12 billion, including Rs2.5 billion from 700 higher-grade positions. Additionally, combining or liquidating several businesses is expected to save another Rs5 billion.

The Jammu and Kashmir Refugees Rehabilitation Organization has been dissolved, and the Chief Commissioner Afghan Refugees Office is being reformed to align with the government’s Afghan repatriation plans.

The Special Economic Zones Authority, Special Technology Zones Authority, and Export Processing Zones Authority are being consolidated to become the National Industrial Development Regulatory Authority.

The Human Organs Transplant Authority has been merged with the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority, while the National Trust for Population Welfare has been closed. The Sheikh Zayed Postgraduate Hospital is being handed to the Punjab government, while the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) will be administered by the Islamabad Capital Territory. The National Fertilizer Corporation and the National Productivity Organization will likewise be closed down.

The Ministries of States and Frontier Regions, Kashmir Affairs, and Gilgit-Baltistan have amalgamated. The Aviation Division has been transferred to the Ministry of Defense, while the government has established a new Public Affairs Unit, with Rana Mubashir Iqbal as federal minister and Abdul Rehman Kanju as Minister of State.

The IMF has questioned the need for federal ministries such as Education and Health, which are subject to provincial control. The global lender has expressed worry about overstaffing in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects.