As part of its austerity drive, the federal government has decided to abolish budgetary allocation amounting to Rs 516 million for gifts and entertainment. The proposal was tabled during the recent cabinet meeting wherein the members decided in unison to stop the practice. The allocation had been made by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, which was later approved by parliament. Of the total allocation, Rs 3.5 million had been fixed under the head of entertainment and gifts at the disposal of the Prime Minister’s House. The cabinet was informed that the Finance Division had been directed to work out in detail the funding for ministries and divisions that could be termed discretionary and present it before the cabinet within a week. In his first address as the premier on August 19, Prime Minister Imran had said the country would begin an austerity drive to reduce debt. He launched the campaign by announcing to sell his office’s fleet of bullet-proof cars. Khan set out his vision for a “Naya Pakistan” and spoke at length about the need to reshape the country by introducing an Islamic welfare system, reducing poverty and slashing high debt levels. “No country can prosper like this. A country must stand on its own feet.” Criticising what he called the colonial-era mindset and lavish lifestyles of Pakistan’s ruling elite, Khan had also announced he would live in a small three-bedroom house instead of the plush prime minister’s residence. And days later he materialised his announcement. Khan had also appealed to overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country and urged the wealthy to start paying taxes, a perennial problem in a nation famous for tax dodging and where less than 1 percent of the population files income tax. Published in Daily Times, September 16th 2018.