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The federal government on Tuesday decided to extend the operating hours of shops, markets, restaurants and other commercial outlets as part of its ongoing austerity measures, citing longer daylight hours and rising summer temperatures.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Austerity Measures, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

The government had announced unprecedented austerity measures on March 9 in the wake of the Middle East war to deal with the global energy crisis, which had arisen due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

As per the revised schedule, the closing timings are as follows:

• Shops, markets, malls, and general retail: 9pm
• Restaurants, cafes and eateries: 11pm (takeaway and delivery services exempt)
• Marriage halls and event venues: 10pm (no change in timings)
• Essential services (pharmacies, hospitals, fuel stations, IT & telecom-related services) are exempted.

“The Committee also directed provincial governments to ensure effective implementation of these guidelines in coordination with federal authorities,” the statement said.

On May 11, PM Shehbaz had extended the countrywide austerity drive till June 13.

The measures extended included 50 per cent reduction in fuel allowance for official vehicles, with the exemption of operational vehicles such as ambulances and public buses.

Other steps included grounding 60pc of official vehicles and a complete ban on foreign visits by ministers and government officials, excluding those deemed essential for the country’s interests, as specified the last time.

Among previously announced austerity measures, the working week for all government offices was reduced to four days — Monday to Thursday.

However, the additional holiday was not availed by banks. It did not apply to the agriculture and industrial sectors, or essential services such as hospitals and ambulance services.

Under the measures, the salary of parliamentarians was to be cut by 25pc, while employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and government-supervised institutions were to see their salaries cut by 5pc-30pc.

Expenses of government departments were reduced by 20pc, along with a ban on purchasing vehicles, furniture, air conditioners and other items for government departments.

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ISLAMABAD: Four PTI leaders, including the party’s general secretary, were expelled from Gilgit-Baltistan while local leaders were detained on Tuesday.

General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday (June 7), after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather.

According to the PTI leadership, the party is not being allowed to campaign in the upcoming elections.

“Today, upon entering Gilgit-Baltistan, I, along with Shaukat Basra, Naeem Panjutha, and Zaheer Babar, was stopped by the police within the jurisdiction of Jal Police Station and prevented from proceeding further,” PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja claimed in a post on X.

“The DSP informed us that my name had been specifically listed in their records. We and our colleagues from the Insaf Student Federation (ISF) were subsequently surrounded by police vehicles and forcibly escorted out of the province,” claimed the PTI general secretary.

Raja said that these actions “represent an attempt to restrict our constitutional right to free movement and political activity”.

“Such measures cannot suppress the voice of the people or their democratic aspirations. The nation has already made its decision: it stands with Imran Khan and the cause of freedom,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, Raja said that party leaders were travelling to GB by road, as PTI stalwart and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser had earlier not been allowed to travel by air. Similarly, PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar was also expelled from the region.

“When we reached the area of Jal police station in Diamer District, we were stopped by the police,” he alleged.

“The police officer was already aware that I was going to Gilgit-Baltistan. They told us that they had orders not to allow us to go there. I asked them who had given the orders, but they said, ‘You can understand who has given us the orders,’” he added.

Raja added that the police travelled with the PTI leaders until they reached Babusar Top, at which point they returned.

Shaukat Basra, while talking to Dawn, said that the people of GB were supporting PTI, and that was why the government was scared of the party’s election campaign.

“They are not giving us a level playing field for the elections, but I believe that the strategy of the government will backfire. While we were expelled, the local leaders and workers of the ISF, who had come to receive us, were arrested by the police,” he added.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly condemned the incident, comparing it with the general elections held on February 8, 2024.

According to Akram, Raja and other party leaders were barred from entering GB and sent back, a “repeat of the suppression tactics used against PTI leadership ahead of and during the 2024 general elections”.

He claimed that police were being provided lists and were identifying and stopping PTI-affiliated individuals from entering the region. Akram said the alleged action “constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution and democratic principles”.

Furthermore, he said a systematic campaign was being carried out in the name of issuing no-objection certificates (NOCs), mirroring the administrative hurdles and restrictions imposed on PTI candidates and workers across Pakistan in February 2024.

He said ruling parties, particularly the PML-N and PPP, were enjoying full state patronage.

“The administration is providing them with facilities and protocol for their public meetings, while every door is being shut on PTI, a clear replication of the one-sided state support extended to these parties in February 2024”, he said.

Earlier today, political bigwigs sought to garner public support in GB as PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed rallies.

Bilawal said the region should be afforded the same rights and protections that other provinces enjoy under the 18th Amendment.

Meanwhile, the PML-N supremo lamented the lack of development in the region.

“I am speaking to you after many years. Isn’t that the case? Perhaps you have forgotten me,” Nawaz said while addressing the public in Gilgit, prompting roaring chants in his support.

The PML-N president then assured the GB residents that he would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and ask him to expand the airport so that commercial jets could operate there.

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PAKISTAN’S farmers are awaiting the next budget with growing fears and fading hopes. Their concerns this year are fundamental, as the government — amid pressure for reform — continues experimenting with subsidies, procurement prices, input-cost liberalisation and agricultural trade.

The cost of this trial-and-error has become an existential problem for farmers and the agricultural sector.

The agriculture sector’s fading hopes are a direct result of the government’s inability — or unwillingness — to adopt a long-term policy direction and muster the political will needed for its implementation.

Deregulation of agricultural inputs has led to a continuous rise in production costs, which the government hesitates to pass on to consumers because of political consequences.

Wheat policy reversals, deregulated input costs and controlled output prices are curtailing farm profitability

Consequently, farmers and agri-sector experts alike agree the government should make a clear decision this year, develop a consistent policy framework, and commit resources to it in the coming budget.

Iqrar Ahmad Khan, former vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and author of the Punjab government’s last agricultural policy, supports the farmers’ demands.

“After all, this is going to be the third budget of this government; it must decide where it wants to take the sector. If it wants to regulate agricultural inputs and trade, it should do so clearly. If it plans to deregulate, it must do so unambiguously. But it must make the direction clear.

“If deregulation is the preferred path, as appears to be the case, then the government should stop interfering in the market on behalf of different stakeholders — whether farmers, consumers, traders or manufacturers — at different levels and times, and let the market find its own equilibrium.”

Citing policy somersaults on wheat — the national staple around which much of the agricultural economy revolves — farmers explain how an inconsistent mix of liberalised and controlled policies is proving ruinous for growers.

Responding to lenders’ demands, the federal and provincial governments withdrew from the wheat procurement process two years ago.

But after a crippling price crash last year, the Punjab government lured commercial wheat buyers into the market by promising to share their financial burden and ensure profitability. Within weeks, as the entire model began to collapse, the province reverted to old tactics: raiding farmers’ stocks, seizing wheat shipments on roads and using administrative power to build up the reserves of private buyers.

In the process, it incurred farmers’ wrath twice over — first by withdrawing from the wheat market and then by seizing their produce to rescue a failing liberalisation model. Such somersaults have become routine and now define the government’s handling of the entire agricultural sector.

Structural weaknesses

Beyond pricing and procurement issues, many believe the crisis in agriculture is also rooted in structural weaknesses that successive governments have failed to address.

Dr Asif Ali, vice chancellor of Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University, argues that since landholdings in Pakistan are already highly fragmented — and continue to be divided with each passing generation — the government needs to mitigate the effects through cluster farming and crop zoning.

These clusters could then be linked with providers of quality agricultural inputs, including seed, fertiliser and pesticides, which could also conduct training programmes for farmers. Such a model would help improve the marketing of agricultural produce as well.

He further points out that nearly 65pc of farmers own less than five hectares of land. For such small landholders, most forms of mechanisation are either financially unaffordable or commercially impractical. He suggests the government announce measures in the budget to establish farm machinery rental centres, enabling small farmers to access equipment without bearing the full cost of ownership.

A question of survival

While some experts focus on structural reforms, farmers’ representatives insist the most immediate issue remains economic survival.

Khalid Khokhar of the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad advocates making agriculture profitable on an urgent basis, arguing that it is no longer economically viable. He suggests the creation of a pricing commission to calculate the cost of production for each crop every year, add a 25pc profit margin and announce the price before the crop reaches the market.

“Either put a cap on the cost of inputs or remove the cap on the price of outputs,” he warns. “Otherwise, farmers may soon be pushed out of business and existence.”

Running dry

Water sector remains the most critical challenge facing agriculture. According to data from the Indus River System Authority, water shortages remained in double digits in six of the last 10 years, touching nearly 30pc in 2022-23. Not a single year during this period was free of a water deficit.

Naeem Hotiana, a farmer from central Punjab, points to a stark funding gap: the outgoing Wapda chairman demanded Rs400 billion annually to complete ongoing water projects but received only Rs35 billion — less than 10pc of the required amount.

“The irrigation system was originally designed for 65pc land utilisation, whereas the current cropping intensity in Punjab has already crossed 150pc. Now combine the realities of limited surface-water availability, shrinking groundwater reserves and barely one-tenth of the required investment being provided, and imagine the situation that is emerging. Doesn’t it scare one out of one’s senses?”

He warns the situation will worsen as environmental pressures mount. “Climate change, which is already testing the limits of existing water supplies, only deepens the anxiety.”

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2026

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European Union (EU) top diplomat Kaja Kallas on Monday said the bloc sought stability in the region, adding that it was in everyone’s interest for the ongoing war in the Middle East to end and for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open.

Kallas, who serves as vice-president of the European Commission and the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, is visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to participate in the 8th round of the EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, which was held earlier today.

In an interview on the Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Kallas said, “This is in everybody’s interest that this war is stopped and the Strait of Hormuz is opened. We are paying a very high price. There are a lot of things dependent on the Strait of Hormuz.”

During the appearance on the show, she commended Pakistan for being a mediator between the United States and Iran, bringing all the parties together, adding that, “Eventually, the [warring] parties have to decide.”

“Everybody is hoping that the first phase of this agreement is signed, so the talks on the difficult topics like nuclear can be started,” she said.

Kallas added that the EU seeks stability in the region. “The problems of our neighbour today could be the problems for us tomorrow. We are all very interlinked.”

She called the Strait of Hormuz a “chokepoint”, mentioning that the EU was also looking forward to diversifying its trade routes and supply chain. “You cannot remain dependent on a single route.”

When asked if she sees any parallels between Russia’s war against Ukraine and Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon, she replied: “I see parallels in all these crises undermining international law. We have the UN Charter, which is very clear: you can’t attack another country; you have to respect another country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. No one should be above the law.”

Talking about the renewal of Pakistan’s GSP+ status, Kallas said, “We discussed it with our counterparts today. The preferential access to our markets is also conditional.”

“It is true that we have a report coming up in July, and then the question of renewing this preference,” she added.

“However, the conventions have to be adopted, particularly on human rights issues, where we need to see improvements.”

She elaborated that the renewal process goes through the EU Parliament.

“The EU Parliament is always scrutinising, and we have been raising these issues on what more can be done to improve the situation,” she said.

When asked whether the EU was satisfied with Pakistan’s legislation to meet the conditions, she said: “Our counterparts are mentioning what they are doing in various files, but this is something where we clearly need to see improvements.”

“We are putting forward some very concrete questions. Hopefully, there is time for improvement in those areas, and then we can renew this scheme easily,” she concluded.

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The government must stop shifting the cost of weak revenue mobilisation onto households and the corporate sector and instead offer targeted tax relief to offset the burden imposed in recent years, including a reduction in the petroleum levy. While support for the most vulnerable remains necessary given high poverty levels, sustained job-creating growth is vital.

It is unreasonable to tax a monthly income of Rs50,000, which falls below the amount required for a family’s subsistence. To make the tax regime more logical and equitable, the income tax threshold should be raised to Rs1.5 million per annum (Rs125,000 per month) from the current Rs600,000. The tax slabs and rates should then be recalibrated accordingly to preserve progressivity while providing meaningful relief to low-income earners.

At the same time, there is little justification for imposing a super tax on the already compliant corporate sector while large segments of the economy — including many services, retail and wholesale trade, real estate, and farm landowners — continue to remain undertaxed or effectively enjoy a tax holiday.

With inflation once again edging upward, the persistently high petroleum levy is adding to the cost pressures across the economy. The levy needs to be rationalised and gradually reduced to levels comparable with regional averages to provide much-needed relief to consumers and businesses alike.

‘Attempting to extract more taxes from an already stressed private sector is likely to generate frustration and resentment rather than meaningful additional revenues’

Measures to broaden the tax base by effectively bringing big property owners and traders into the federal tax net, while ensuring that provinces adequately tax agricultural income and other undertaxed service providers, could not only offset the revenue loss from providing relief to overburdened taxpayers but also generate substantial additional revenues.

“A wider and more equitable tax base would improve compliance, reduce distortions, and strengthen fiscal sustainability without placing further pressure on already heavily taxed segments of society,” said a retired Federal Board of Revenue officer.

Meanwhile, revenue targets should be set realistically, considering the near-stagnant state of the economy, where economic growth is barely keeping pace with population growth. Under these circumstances, greater emphasis should be placed on reducing wasteful administrative spending and rationalising the costs of an oversized and inefficient state apparatus.

“Sizeable increase in tax revenues is rarely achieved in a low-growth environment,” observed a tax expert who requested anonymity. “Attempting to extract more taxes from an already stressed private sector is likely to generate frustration and resentment rather than meaningful additional revenues. It could further undermine business confidence, discourage investment, and deepen the economic slowdown at a time when the country can least afford it.”

The government will need to use the budget to convince the public that it is not only cognisant of the mounting economic pressures on households and businesses but is also committed to addressing rising poverty and inequality, while facilitating the private sector for accelerating GDP growth.

More importantly, it must demonstrate a credible strategy to lift growth to the levels capable of generating sufficient productive employment for the country’s expanding workforce and improving living standards on a sustained basis.

The spending patterns witnessed during Eid, where a small segment of society reportedly spent millions on sacrificial animals, in a country where half the population remain below or near the poverty line, underscored the widening gap between the affluent and the struggling majority.

Growing frustration among the youth over limited economic opportunities, coupled with widening income and wealth disparities, is increasingly viewed as a source of political and social risk not only for the government of the day but also for the country’s fragile democratic order and broader institutional framework.

Some observers caution that unless the upcoming budget sends a clear signal that the government is committed to expanding opportunities, reducing barriers to upward social mobility, and addressing economic exclusion, public discontent could intensify. Failure to tackle these underlying grievances may further erode trust in institutions and increase the risk of social unrest.

“We dread a Bangladesh-like situation if mounting economic grievances remain unaddressed. Our platforms are not merely advocating the interests of businesses; we are also urging the government to safeguard the economic rights of citizens and provide tax relief to the middle class,” remarked a leading Karachi-based business leader while explaining the budget proposals submitted to the government.

The reference was to the 2024 turmoil in Bangladesh, widely referred to as the “July Uprising”, a massive, student-led movement that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. Many analysts view it as a reminder of how economic pressures, perceptions of nepotism and inequality, and limited opportunities can amplify public discontent and trigger wider political instability.

Official estimates place Pakistan’s poverty rate at 28.9 per cent of the population. However, a recently released report by the Social Policy and Development Centre paints a bleak picture, suggesting poverty incidence at 43.5pc in 2024-25, with urban poverty rising at a faster rate.

The report also points to a widening income gap. According to its findings, inequality increased by 12pc between 2018-19 and 2024-25, with deterioration more pronounced in urban centres.

Members of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s economic team were approached for their views on the concerns raised in this report. While some chose not to comment ahead of the budget, the responses of others had not been received by the filing deadline.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 1st, 2026

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A military official from Pakistan has said that the country’s “resolute response” to India during the May 2025 conflict had effectively debunked the notion of space for war in South Asia.

Commander I Corps Lieutenant General Nauman Zakria made these remarks during a special session at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.

In May 2025, a four-day conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked with Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.

After New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7, Pakistan said it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat, later raising the tally to eight. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire.

Speaking at the Shangri-La conference, Lieutenant General Zakria said strategic stability in South Asia remained shaped by nuclear deterrence, conventional asymmetry, enduring political tensions, and unresolved territorial and ideological disputes between India and Pakistan.

And despite the complexities of great power contestation, China constituted a constructive and stabilising factor, contributing to strategic balance, regional connectivity and economic cooperation, he added.

Lt Gen Zakria said the May 2025 conflict demonstrated Pakistan’s effective multi-domain operations, which were enabled by tri-service synergy, integrated use of cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space-based capabilities and synergetic information manoeuvre, generating cross-domain effects.

“Pakistan’s resolute response has effectively debunked the notion of space for war in South Asia,” he said.

“Postconlict dynamics have further constrained the prospects for conventional war. However, continued Indian militarisation coupled with persistent adversarial rhetoric and absence of robust crisis management mechanisms continue to undermine regional stability,” he added.

In this evolving environment, he said, South Asia’s strategic equilibrium was increasingly contingent upon escalation control and effective crisis communication frameworks.

“Navigating the complex challenges of a fast-transforming geopolitical environment warrants a shift from competition-only postures to cooperative risk management across multiple domains, while remaining committed to upholding international norms,” he stressed.

Firstly, he said, states must prioritise responsible governance of emerging technologies. “Technological innovation cannot be divorced from ethical responsibility and strategic accountability.”

States should work towards internationally accepted norms regarding the military use of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber operations and space technologies. Human oversight must remain central in decisions involving the use of force, especially in systems with strategic implications, he said.

Lt Gen Zakria added that confidence-building measures, transparency mechanisms and technical dialogues among states were essential to reduce misunderstanding and prevent destabilising arms races.

Secondly, he said, institutionalised crisis management mechanisms and strategic communication channels needed to be strengthened, he said.

“Even during periods of geopolitical rivalry, dialogue must never collapse. History repeatedly demonstrates that strategic stability is preserved not only through deterrence but through communication as well.”

Thirdly, he said, nations needed to collaborate in codifying norms regarding space testing, prohibitions on attacks on civilian infrastructure, and human oversight requirements for autonomous weapon systems.

“Norms do not discourage competitiveness, but they do set boundaries that make deterrence more calculable.

“International law and multilateral institutions must be adaptive to emerging realities. Technological transformation is outpacing our existing institutional and legal frameworks,” he said.

Lt Gen Zakria said that strengthening global cooperation on cyber governance, responsible AI development, space security, digital ethics and information integrity was imperative to maintaining the geostrategic equilibrium.

“No country, regardless of its size or technological sophistication, can manage the emerging multifaceted risks alone. The challenges we face are transnational by nature and therefore require collaborative responses,” he asserted.

Moreover, strategic stability was not only about military capability but also about societal endurance, he pointed out.

“Countries must strengthen cyber resilience, protect critical infrastructure, improve digital and technical literacy and build institutional credibility.

“Public trust is a strategic asset. Resilient societies are far less vulnerable to external manipulation and internal destabilisation through misinformation, polarisation, and technological disruption,” he said.

At its core, strategic stability was ultimately about responsible statecraft, he added.

“Technology itself is not inherently destabilising. But the real challenge lies in how technologies are governed, integrated, and employed. Human judgement, political wisdom, and international cooperation for the greater good remain indispensable.

“We must resist the temptation for the greater good. We must resist the temptation to view every technological breakthrough solely through the lens of competition and militarisation, rather as a function of balance between innovation and responsibility, national security and global stability, strategic competition and collective survival,” he said.

Lt Gen Zakria added, “Let us remember that peace and stability have never been involuntary outcomes of technological progression. They have always depended on political responsibility, strategic restraint and sustained international engagement.”

Earlier in his address, he said the operationalisation of the emerging domains alongside the legacy domains had significantly complicated the strategic stability landscape.

“Rapid advances in AI, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities, quantum technologies, and multi-domain operations are transforming military decision making, command and control structures, and strategic competition, while simultaneously introducing new vulnerabilities, risks of miscalculations, attribution challenges, and unintended escalation,” he said.

As states, societies, and critical infrastructures become increasingly dependent on interconnected technological ecosystems, the erosion of predictability and compression of decision-making timelines were fundamentally reshaping the nature of inter-state conflict and strategic deterrence, he added.

Lt Gen Zakria said the information was becoming increasingly fragmented, as digital platforms, AI-generated content, and disinformation campaigns eroded trust, distorted narratives and compressed decision-making timelines.

“In this evolving landscape, the control of information and data integrity has emerged as a critical determinant of strategic stability, alongside conventional military balance,” he stressed.

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QUETTA: Pakistan Rai­lways resumed train operations from Balochistan on Saturday, restoring services after a three-day suspension, railway officials said.

According to the officials, train operations from the province have been fully restored, with the Jaffar Express departing from Quetta for Peshawar. They said that the return service of the Jaffar Express will also depart from Peshawar for Quetta as per the timetable, restoring connectivity between the province and other parts of the country.

The Jaffar Express, the only train service from Quetta to Peshawar, was suspended last Sunday following a vehicle-borne suicide bombing that targeted a shuttle train near the Chaman railway crossing.

The Jaffar Express, which was ready to depart for its destination, was immediately stopped and later cancelled. Passengers were asked to collect refunds. However, after two days, the train service was restored, but on Wednesday it was again suspended. Railway authorities have not mentioned the reason for the suspension of the Jaffar Express from both sides.

On Saturday, however, the Jaffar Express depa­rted for its destination on schedule following the restoration of rail traffic.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026

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