Dr Kaiser Bengali resigns from govt’s right-sizing committee

Islamabad: Dr. Kaiser Bengali, a key figure on the federal government’s Right-Sizing Committee, has resigned from his role, citing frustration over the government's failure to make meaningful cuts to expenditures and dissatisfaction with its policies.

Dr. Bengali expressed his concerns that the federal government is not committed to addressing its spending issues.

According to the reports, he also resigned from three additional significant government bodies: the Austerity Committee, the Right-Sizing Committee, and the Government Expenditure Reduction Committee.

He confirmed that his resignation was formally submitted to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Cabinet Secretary Kamran Afzal.

In his statement, Dr. Bengali acknowledged the government’s attempts to reduce costs but criticized its lack of effective implementation. He highlighted that the committees he served on had provided critical recommendations, such as evaluating 70 government institutions and 17 state-owned corporations.

He further noted that inflation has severely impacted household budgets, leading to an increase in suicides among citizens.

According to Dr. Bengali, removing senior officials could save up to Rs30 billion annually.

 He warned that the government's current strategy, which targets lower-grade employees for layoffs, is exacerbating the economic crisis, leaving Pakistan’s economy in a fragile state.

Besides it, he pointed out that worsening economic conditions have made institutions like the IMF hesitant to provide loans.

Dr. Bengali revealed that the committees had suggested closing 17 divisions and 50 government departments to cut expenses. Despite these proposals, the government did not act on them as advised, instead adopting measures that contradicted the recommendations. He criticized the government for focusing on layoffs of lower-level employees while shielding higher-ranking officials in grades 17 to 22.