The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department on Saturday directed all offices working under it to adopt conservation measures in view of the Middle East crisis and “anticipated disruptions” to the supply chain of petroleum products.

While the government has assured the nation that petroleum reserves were sufficient and the situation remained under control, fuel prices were hiked by Rs55 on Friday, citing the rising global oil prices as shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains paralysed.

A notification issued by KP’s finance department on Saturday, a copy of which is available with Dawn, noted that a “critical situation is expected to arise at local level” due to the anticipated disruptions.

“Given the possible implications, it has become necessary to adopt precautionary and conservative measures to ensure the smooth functioning of government operations in the province,” it added.

According to the notification, all departments, formations and subordinate offices working under the finance department were directed to “ensure judicious and economical use of petroleum products”.

They were told to restrict fuel consumption “strictly to essential official duties, emergency response activities, and unavoidable field operations”.

The finance department directed the offices to restrict “outstation visits, non-essential inspections, ceremonial visits, and unnecessary official travel” with immediate effect.

It also directed that official vehicles shall be used strictly for official purposes. “Pooling of vehicles may be encouraged where feasible, and unnecessary use of multiple vehicles for the same official activity should be avoided.”

As per the notification, “all internal, inter-departmental, and coordination meetings should, as far as practicable, be conducted through virtual platforms” to minimise fuel consumption.

The department also instructed the offices to ensure that “fuel allocations and vehicle usage are properly monitored and recorded by the concerned administrative offices to restrict usage”.

It also directed the heads of the departments and offices to “sensitise all officers and staff regarding austerity in the use of government resources during the prevailing circumstances”.

The notification stressed that the ongoing budget cycle and the budget preparation exercise for the upcoming financial year remain a priority assignment of the Finance Department.

Hence, it emphasised that all offices under the department “must ensure that the above measures do not in any way hamper the budget cycle and budget preparation exercise”.

The development came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the finance and petroleum ministers to prepare a strategy in coordination with the provincial governments for the conservation of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply.

Meanwhile, a proposed national action plan, including work from home and distance learning measures, had been deferred after the premier chaired a meeting on Friday.