Gilani leaves for Belarus on official visit: Three-month ban on foreign travel subject to specified exceptions: Senate

ISLAMABAD: A day after the Senate Secretariat announced that Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani approved a “comprehensive package,” which included a three-month ban on foreign visits, as part of the austerity measures, the Senate chief left for an official foreign visit on Wednesday on the pretext of strengthening parliamentary cooperation with the host state.

The said visit to Belarus is taking place at the invitation of Gilani’s Belarusian counterpart Natalya Kochanova, the Chairperson of the Council of Belarus, revealed a press release from the Senate Secretariat on Wednesday.

“The visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations and parliamentary cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus. The visit carries particular significance in view of the growing momentum in Pakistan-Belarus relations and the shared desire to expand cooperation across political, parliamentary, economic and people-to-people domains,” the press release added.

The chairman Senate is accompanied by senators; Dostain Domki, Umer Farooq, Mohsin Aziz, Shahzaib Durrani and Amir Chishti, the press release added.

A day earlier, the Senate Secretariat announced in a press release and a notification on Tuesday that Chairman Gilani approved a comprehensive package of fuel conservation and austerity measures for the Senate Secretariat, which, it said, aimed at reducing expenditure and promoting efficient use of public resources.

“Complete ban on foreign visits/travel for three months, subject to specified exceptions, while official dinners will only be hosted for visiting foreign delegations,” stated the Senate Secretariat.

According to the austerity package, fuel provision for official vehicles has been reduced by 50 percent for three months, while the purchase of vehicles of all types has been completely banned.

A five percent reduction in the non-ERE (Employees Related Expenditure) budget for the financial year 2026-27 will also be implemented on a monthly basis.

“The Senate Secretariat will also give preference to teleconferencing for meetings, except intra-city meetings, while the number of meetings will be kept to the bare minimum,” the press release said.

The austerity package further prohibits government-funded seminars, trainings and conferences.

Meanwhile, the Senate Secretariat said on Wednesday that during the Belarus visit, the chairman Senate is scheduled to hold meetings with the president of Belarus, leadership of the Belarusian Parliament and other senior officials, “during which matters relating to bilateral relations, parliamentary exchanges and regional and international developments will be discussed.”

The chairman will underscore the importance of regular parliamentary exchanges, institutional linkages between the two parliaments and greater interaction among parliamentarians and parliamentary committees, said the Senate Secretariat in its press release.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026