Overview
- The Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Austerity Measures chaired by Ishaq Dar approved the revision and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed a Cabinet Division notification putting the new hours into effect.
- Under the new federal schedule most retail shops must close at 9pm, marriage halls at 10pm, and restaurants and food outlets at 11pm, with takeaway and home delivery explicitly allowed to operate past those times.
- The notification carves out wide exemptions for pharmacies, hospitals, bakeries, petrol and CNG stations, electric vehicle charging points, IT firms and call centres so essential services remain open.
- The Punjab government issued an immediate matching notification to apply the revised hours but several other provinces have not formally adopted the federal order and the Sindh Home Department denied issuing any such directive, leaving enforcement uneven.
- The move builds on austerity steps first imposed in April to curb fuel and electricity use after a spike in global fuel prices linked to Middle Eastern tensions and could ease pressure on traders while creating short-term confusion over local enforcement and compliance.