Renowned economist Dr. Kaiser Bengali has resigned from all his official positions, reportedly disillusioned by government policies. He submitted his resignation to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Cabinet Secretary Kamran Afzal, stepping down from three government committees on austerity, rightsizing, and expense reduction.
Dr. Kaiser Bengali criticized the government’s cost-cutting measures, highlighting that lower-level employees were being laid off while officers were spared. He pointed out that the government was ignoring the committees’ recommendations by terminating employees in grades 1 to 16 while protecting those in grades 17 to 22.
He stressed that removing senior officials could save Rs30 billion annually and warned that the economy, burdened by debt, was on the brink of disaster.
While Dr. Bengali acknowledged some commendable government efforts to reduce spending, he emphasized the importance of the three committees’ work. He noted that the committees had reviewed 70 government entities and 17 corporations, recommending the closure of 17 divisions and the shutdown of 50 government departments to cut costs.
