• Move seen as attempt to counter narrative after Rs90m vehicle controversy
• Senate chairman orders major cuts; savings expected at Rs700-750m

KARACHI: A day after confirming the receipt of a Rs90 million vehicle from “savings from the Senate’s budget of the previous year”, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday apparently moved to seize the narrative by chairing a high-level meeting to enforce sweeping austerity measures within Senate Secretariat.

The meeting was held after the Senate Secretariat issued a rebuttal to reports of the purchase of a luxury vehicle for Mr Gilani, but the statement appeared to further complicate the matter by essentially confirming the purchase and reiterating details already reported.

The rebuttal was issued after reports that a vehicle worth Rs90m had been purchased from Senate’s budget for the chairman. While it confirmed the purchase, it did not disclose the cost of the vehicle.

It did, however, state that the “vehicle was delivered in March 2026, whereas the payment was made from the previous year’s budget savings in May 2025”.

Chairing Tuesday’s meeting, the Senate chairman announced large-scale expenditure cuts, starting with a reduction in his own office’s expenses, and directed strict financial discipline across all departments.

A statement issued by the Senate Sec­r­e­­tariat said Mr Gilani presided over a high-level meeting to review austerity measures and discuss their implementation in light of the country’s economic situation.

The austerity measures align with a government initiative to deal with the global fuel crunch resulting from the Middle East conflict.

The meeting focused on “significant cuts in Senate expenditures, beginning with substantial reductions in the budget of the chairman’s office”, the statement said.

“Adopting a top-down approach to fiscal discipline, the chairman directed that austerity measures must begin at the highest level,” it added.

Outlining the measures, the statement said Mr Gilani directed the “immediate enforcement of austerity measures across the secretariat. These include a complete ban on foreign travel, a 50pc reduction in POL consumption, the grounding of 60pc of official vehicles, a strict ban on non-essential procurements, and the implementation of salary deductions or contributions in line with government policy.”

Any future procurement would be subject to approval by a dedicated Senate austerity committee, the statement said. “As a result of these measures, the Senate Sec­retariat expects to reduce more than 50pc of its remaining budgetary utilisation for the current fiscal year, resulting in estimated savings of Rs700m to Rs750m,” it said.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026