The federal government on Tuesday unveiled a plan to conserve energy, under which all businesses, including restaurants, will close at 8 p.m.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking at a press conference with other federal ministers to inform the media about the decisions made in a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, announced that "all markets and shopping malls will be closed by 8pm across the country.
However, he stated that the restaurant hours might be increased by an hour.
The federal minister continued by announcing that all wedding halls would close at 10 p.m. Pakistan would save between 8,000 and 9,000 megawatts of electricity and Rs62 billion annually as a result of the decision.
“Markets in other parts of the world are shut down by 6pm but they remain open beyond midnight in Pakistan,” said Khawaja Asif.
The federal minister further said that the government would take all four provinces on board regarding energy decisions and the final plan would be launched by Thursday with consensus.
Asif also said the government was mulling over introducing e-bikes. “The govt is also introducing e-bikes which will phase out the bikes that use petrol.”
Ministry of Information will be running a media campaign to spread awareness regarding these new measures among the public, he added.
