LAHORE: Multan Division Commissioner Amir Karim Khan chaired a meeting on Wednesday to review the implementation of austerity measures issued by the chief minister.The Multan deputy commissioner attended the meeting while other deputy commissioners joined through video-link.

Deputy commissioners briefed the meeting on steps taken in their districts.

The commissioner directed that offices not involved in public service delivery reduce their staff by 50 percent and adopt a four-day workweek.

He directed officers to obtain permission before leaving their stations on weekends to reduce travel and fuel use. Departments were asked to call only core staff to offices and allow other staff to work from home.

The commissioner also directed that official meetings be held online to limit travel expenses and instructed districts to activate district control committees.

He said energy conservation was required in the current national and regional situation and called on institutions and the public to adopt measures for reduced use of resources.Commissioner Mr Khan also inaugurated a road widening and beautification project at Kalma Chowk.

The project covered a 600-feet section of the road in front of the Muslim School. The width of the road was increased from 24 feet to 36 feet to facilitate traffic movement. The commissioner said the location was identified as a traffic bottleneck during a field review. After a survey, the boundary wall of the Muslim School was shifted inwards to allow expansion of the road and address congestion. The project was completed under the supervision of the Multan Development Authority (MDA) at a cost of Rs14 million. The wall along the road was decorated with three relief panels and nineteen acrylic panels depicting culture and heritage of Multan, development initiatives of the Government of Punjab, and references to operations of the Pakistan Army.

The commissioner said the project would facilitate traffic movement and add visual elements along the road.

MDA Director General Rashid Irshad, officials of various departments and members of the civil society attended the ceremony.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2026