ISLAMABAD (National Times) A day after the the resignation of country\u2019s leading economist, Dr Kaiser Bengali, from official committees over \u201cbiased\u201d rightsizing, the government on Sunday said the former\u2019s decision apparently stemmed from a communication gap or misunderstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot only positions from grades 1 to 16 but all government positions from grades 1 to 22 are being right-sized,\u201d a government spokesperson told Geo News on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that scores of high-ranking officials would also be put on the chopping block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe rightsizing committee has reviewed six ministries so far, in the first phase. Dissolution of one ministry has been approved, while two others will be merged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this context, at least two officers of BPS-22 and several others from BPS-17 to BPS-21 may be terminated as their positions would become redundant, the spokesperson said, describing the economist\u2019s claim as a misunderstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official remarked that approximately 60,000 positions could become surplus, including posts from grades 17 to 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bengali on Saturday stepped down from three government committees formed to cut expenditures and carry out institutional rightsizing, warning that the economy \u201cis on a ventilator due to [mounting] debts and on the path to destruction\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He accused the government of targeting employees in grades 1 to 16 while sparing officials of higher grades in its rightsizing drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe rightsizing committee respects Bengali\u2019s opinion, however, it appears to be based on a lack of information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official asserted that in this regard the committee was comprehensively and impartially reviewing the autonomous and government organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, he said, the federal cabinet was highlighting various aspects of the recommendations approved by the rightsizing committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spokesperson said the government was working on a compulsory retirement package with necessary amendments to the Civil Servants Act, of 1973, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis package can be applied to all civil servants without any favour or preference,\u201d the spox said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bengali has sent his resignation to Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was a member of key bodies for austerity, rightsizing and expenditure reduction committees formed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government to deal with the economic crisis after it returned to power after the 2024 general elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His resignation comes at a time when the government is claiming to make all-out efforts to come out of the economic crisis via austerity measures, rightsizing and privatisation of unnecessary and loss-making state-owned entities, as well as seeking another bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his statement, Bengali praised the incumbents for initiating “good efforts” to reduce its spending and termed the three committees crucial for cutting down the government’s expenditure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detailing his services, the economist said that all three committees tabled recommendations to the federal government for reducing the government’s expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the panels suggested shutting down 17 divisions and 50 departments after precisely reviewing the functioning and effectiveness of 70 government institutions and 17 corporations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis government is taking steps against the recommendations [of the committees],\u201d Bengali said slamming the decisions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJunior employees \u2014 from Grade 1 to 16 \u2014 are being terminated instead of high-ranking officers from Grade 17 to 22 to reduce the expenses,\u201d he alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJobs of Grades 17 to 22 officers in different departments are being protected [by the federal government]. If we remove these high-ranking officers, we could have cut our financial expenses by Rs30 billion annually,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His statement cast doubt on the recent government moves to rightsize federal ministries and institutions, including restructuring of the state-owned utility stores, closure of the Public Works Department (PWD), and privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also worth mentioning here that the federal cabinet was also informed earlier this week regarding the merger of 82 government bodies related to different ministries and their dissolution into 40 institutions in light of the rightsizing committee\u2019s recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bengali, who has a master\u2019s degree in economics from Boston University, USA, and a PhD degree in economics from the University of Karachi, warned that the economy is \u201con the path to destruction\u201d due to the piling up of debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people are compelled to commit suicide as it\u2019s become difficult for the masses to manage household budgets, the economist added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throwing shade at the PML-N government\u2019s economic policies, he claimed that global institutions, including the IMF, have refused to disburse loans to Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD (National Times) A day after the the resignation of country\u2019s leading economist, Dr Kaiser Bengali, from official committees over \u201cbiased\u201d rightsizing, the government on Sunday said the former\u2019s decision apparently stemmed from a communication gap or misunderstanding. \u201cNot only positions from grades 1 to 16 but all government positions from grades 1 to 22 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n