The first provincial government of the then Frontier province in 1947 now renamed as KPK had only five ministers and there were only five staff cars in the government pool of vehicles . When one car out of the pool was earmarked for the use of the CM four cars were left in the pool and the number of ministers were five so the issue was resolved in such a way that it was decided by the cabinet that when one minister would be on a tour outside Peshawar the other four would remain in the office .They ran the province in this manner for full one year until the fifth car was bought after the financial position of the province allowed purchase of a new car.
Such was the spirit of austerity and parsimony. Today also the financial condition of the country is not much different from that of the 1947 as we are living from hand to mouth therefore extreme austerity in official spendings in the non developmental sector is the need of the hour.
One remembers that when a former PM of the country Mohammad Khan junejo issued orders that those government functionaries who are entitled to the use of official vehicles should buy small cars, a fun was made of him and many officers said small cars are uncomfortable as they don’t have enough leg space in them and their legs don’t fit into them .
