ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The federal government has begun considering a “petroleum smart lockdown” that could introduce a four-day working week, partial work from home for public employees and the grounding of half of all official vehicles, as it looks for ways to cut fuel consumption amid soaring global oil prices. The proposal has already drawn a sharp warning from the country’s largest traders’ body, while a federal minister has said no decision on a lockdown has been made.
The proposals were reviewed in detail at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which examined options to save fuel and reduce the government’s travel expenses.
Under the smart lockdown plan, public and private offices would work four days a week, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday observed as holidays, in order to significantly reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.
The meeting also considered a rotation formula for the attendance of government employees, allowing some staff to work from home. A further proposal calls for 50 percent of government vehicles to be taken off the road.
According to the proposals, the core aim is to shield the national exchequer and the public from the impact of rising international petroleum prices and to bring about a major reduction in domestic fuel consumption.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Musadik Malik said there had been no discussion so far about moving towards a smart lockdown.
He said the government would take further austerity measures and cut its own expenses as far as possible. Restaurants and wedding halls are already closing at fixed times, he said, and the contours of a new energy policy are being finalised, with details to be shared with the public once the policy is complete.
Malik defended the government’s fuel pricing, saying the relief given to poorer citizens exceeds the tax collected, and that this was a deliberate decision. He acknowledged that current petrol prices still offer insufficient relief and that the burden on people is heavy, but said relief had been extended as far as the economy could bear.
Pakistan, he said, is working to help end the fighting in the region, which would bring relief to the poor in Pakistan and around the world. He added that Pakistan is being described internationally as a guarantor of peace.
In Karachi, the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran rejected the lockdown proposal outright. Its president, Ajmal Baloch, said a lockdown was unacceptable under any circumstances, as the trading community is already facing severe difficulties.
If the government wants traders on the streets, it will not take long, he warned, adding that any attempt to enforce a lockdown by force would be resisted. Baloch also demanded an end to the practice of providing free petrol, electricity and gas to officials, and said traders would announce a date for protests unless the government dropped the proposal.
Pakistan has used demand-side curbs before. Smart lockdowns were widely applied during the Covid-19 pandemic to target restrictions at specific areas, while earlier energy conservation drives relied on early closing times for markets and wedding halls. The current debate differs in that it targets fuel use directly, through working patterns and official transport.
The discussion comes as households absorb repeated fuel price increases. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz this week described the federal relief package as a positive step amid the global oil surge, while opposition voices have warned of public backlash over petrol price hikes.
With the proposal still under review and the energy policy yet to be finalised, the government faces a balancing act between saving fuel and avoiding further strain on businesses. Any final decision is likely to depend on how long the disruption to Gulf oil supplies lasts and on whether the government can bring traders on board.
Leave a Reply