Overview
- A presidency-led consultative meeting Monday rejected a nationwide “smart lockdown” after all four provincial chief ministers opposed the idea.
- Briefings at the same session said fuel stocks are sufficient for current needs with future supply plans underway, and President Asif Ali Zardari urged a public campaign to curb fuel use and promote mass transit.
- The government moved ahead with austerity by cutting official spending, trimming the development budget, and idling 60% of state vehicles to reduce costs.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s team reiterated it has turned down proposals to raise oil prices and will direct the savings into targeted relief for economically vulnerable people.
- Business groups pressed the government to consult stakeholders before any curbs, warning that a lockdown would stall activity, while law enforcement drives continued with Punjab police reporting over 11,000 drug arrests this year and Lahore officials acting against an overcharging hospital parking crew.