AUSTERITY measures must be visible and start from the top. Mere rhetoric will not serve the purpose. There are examples set by the likes of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah and others that we need to emulate. The government, like its predecessors, has resorted to steps that burden the rich and poor equally. This is not what austerity looks like.

The prime minister and all constitutional office holders must do away with the practice of declaring multiple private residences as camp offices whose expenses are then borne by the state. All of them must reside at state-built residences, which will save billions on security and logistics alone. There is no justification for burdening country with such expenses.

We need to follow the austerity that was adopted by Angela Merkel, the former chancellor of Germany, who was at helm for over 16 years of what was Europe’s most affluent nation with a $4 trillion gross domestic product (GDP). She was a highly educated individual who held a PhD in chemistry.

While in office, she led a simple lifestyle and preferred to reside at the same modest apartment with her husband where they used to live before coming to power. She dressed modestly and faced criticism for wearing the same coat for over 18 years. In response to a journalist’s query, she famously responded that she was a public servant and not a fashion model, and people must judge her on the basis of her performance and not her attire.

Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026