Federal Austerity Measures 2026-27 in Pakistan: Ban on New Posts, Vehicles and Treatment Abroad (Full List)

The Finance Division notified this on 21 July 2026, after the federal cabinet approved it with the 2026-27 budget on 12 June 2026. We read the notification and its three annexes on the Finance Division's circulars page on 7 November 2026. The full list is below, with what it means for a job seeker, a serving officer and a state company.

The cabinet carried three older orders into 2026-27

The notification, No. 7(1)EXP-IV/2024-0001, does not write new rules. It continues three existing sets of austerity measures for the 2026-27 financial year, which runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Two date from February 2023 and one from September 2024.

The cabinet decision behind it is Case No. 34/08/2026 of 12 June 2026, the annual budget statement. The Cabinet Division conveyed it on 17 July 2026, and the Finance Division issued the notification four days later.

New posts, vehicles and treatment abroad are banned

Annex III sets a complete ban on six kinds of spending from the current budget. It also abolishes every post that has been vacant for the last three years. Projects funded under the PSDP, the federal development budget, are exempt for durables and new posts.

• Vehicles: no purchase of any type, except operational vehicles such as ambulances and other medical vehicles, fire engines, buses and vans for educational institutions, solid waste vehicles and motorbikes.
• Machinery and equipment: banned, except for hospitals, laboratories, agriculture, mining and schools.
• New posts: no new posts, including contingent paid and temporary posts.
• Temporary posts: contingent paid and temporary posts cannot continue beyond one year.
• Treatment abroad: none at government expense.
• Foreign visits: no non-obligatory visits abroad where government money is involved.

Job seekers: new posts are frozen, existing vacancies are not

The ban is on creating new posts and on keeping temporary posts beyond a year. The notification does not ban filling a post that already exists. But any post left empty for three years is abolished, so a long vacant position may no longer be there to advertise.

That matters for anyone waiting on a federal advertisement. Recruitment to sanctioned posts, the ones already in the budget, is not stopped by this notification. Current openings are tracked in public service commission jobs open now.

Contract and daily wage staff should note the one year limit. A contingent paid or temporary post cannot be continued beyond one year under Annex III. If your post was created as temporary, ask your office in writing whether it has been continued, and on what authority.

Officers: economy class, no five star hotels, no luxury cars

Annex II limits officers' foreign travel to obligatory visits, in economy class, with no support staff. Officers abroad cannot stay in five star hotels. Official vehicles are withdrawn from senior officers who already draw car monetisation, and no luxury vehicle is allowed for any officer.

Car monetisation is a monthly cash payment given to entitled officers in place of an official car. An officer who takes that cash cannot also keep a government car. The annex also asks ministries to use teleconferencing to cut travel and hotel bills, and warns of action against misuse of official vehicles.

None of this changes pay. The 2026 pay scales, the 7 per cent ad hoc relief allowance and the Rs 40,700 minimum salary floor stand as notified, and the scales are covered in the revised basic pay scales 2026.

Ministers forgo salaries and pay their own utility bills

Annex I asks federal ministers, ministers of state, advisers and special assistants to the prime minister to give up their salary and allowances voluntarily. Ministers pay their own gas, electricity, water and telephone bills. Luxury vehicles with cabinet members are withdrawn.

1. Cabinet members forgo salary and allowances voluntarily.
2. Ministers pay for gas, electricity, water and telephone themselves.
3. Luxury vehicles are withdrawn from cabinet members.
4. Only one security vehicle is given, where necessary.
5. Domestic and foreign travel is in economy class, with no support staff abroad, and no five star hotels.

The word "voluntarily" is in the original order. It is a request to forgo pay, not a legal bar on drawing it.

State companies and regulators are covered, with a relaxation route

Annexes II and III also apply to federal attached departments, state owned enterprises and statutory bodies, including regulatory authorities. For state owned enterprises, the cabinet treats them as a federal direction under section 35 of the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act, 2023.

There is a way out. The cabinet authorised the Finance Division's Austerity Committee to relax any measure case by case where there is sufficient justification. So a hospital that needs an ambulance is already exempt, and a department with a strong case for something else can apply to the committee.

Common questions

Is there a ban on new government jobs in Pakistan in 2026-27?

There is a ban on creating new federal posts, including temporary ones. Filling existing sanctioned posts is not banned by this notification, but posts vacant for three years are abolished.

Can federal departments buy new vehicles in 2026-27?

No, except operational vehicles such as ambulances, fire engines, buses and vans for educational institutions, solid waste vehicles and motorbikes. PSDP projects are exempt for durables.

Do the austerity measures apply to federal state companies?

Annexes II and III apply to state owned enterprises and statutory bodies, including regulatory authorities, as a federal direction.

Who can relax the austerity measures?

The Austerity Committee set up by the Finance Division, case by case, where there is sufficient justification.

Do the austerity measures cut government salaries?

No. They limit spending on posts, vehicles, equipment, travel and treatment abroad. Ministers are asked to forgo salary voluntarily, but employees' pay is unchanged.

What we read

We read Finance Division notification No. 7(1)EXP-IV/2024-0001 of 21 July 2026, "Austerity Measures FY-2026-27 for Controlling Expenditures of the Federal Government", and its three annexes, on the Finance Division's circulars page on 7 November 2026. The annexes are scans of the 2023 and 2024 orders. Ministries pass the measures on to their own departments.