Drastic measures in belt-tightening blueprint

The government may soon abolish regulatory bodies of the devolved subjects, particularly health and education, do away with transport facilities for all the federal ministries and divisions, phase out non-executive staff at the Centre and merge aviation and maritime divisions with the defence ministry as part of an upcoming restructuring and austerity drive. The government has been under criticism over a tough federal budget and higher energy costs in its attempt to secure a $7 billion economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without effective and matching expenditure control of the public sector. The legislative process is expected to begin this month as some readjustments would require enabling changes to federal and provincial laws and a new division “Social Sector Affairs” would be created.