A meeting was held under the chairmanship of MD Utility Stores Corporation Faisal Nisar Chaudhry in which important decisions were made. It was also decided in the meeting to completely close utility stores.

The meeting decided that all active utility stores will start closing operations across the country from tomorrow. The goods in the stores will be transferred to warehouses. The goods from the warehouses will be returned to the shopkeepers under the auspices of the authorities.

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According to the decision, IT equipment in stores and other offices across the country will also be returned, racks and other equipment will be auctioned through a transparent process, and notices will be issued to vacate rented stores from August 1.

It was decided in the meeting that an assessment would be conducted by the General Managers IT to determine the assets of the utility stores.

According to the document, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed utility stores employees to be provided with VSS packages upon closure of the institution.

The closure of utility stores will particularly affect the middle and low-income classes of the country. Utility stores were a source of low-cost access to essential commodities such as flour, sugar, ghee, pulses, rice, etc. for millions of people.

The closure of utility stores will increase the hardships of ordinary citizens. The poor will have to rely on the general market to purchase essential goods, where prices are already high.

It should be noted that the Utility Stores Corporation Pakistan was established in 1971. This institution has been providing basic necessities to the public through subsidies for almost five decades.