In days past

As a retired pensioner, who joined the civil service in 1966, I would suggest that the National Austerity Committee look into the manner in which the public resources have been plundered over the years. In my day, there were no allocated vehicles and vehicles were requisitioned strictly for official use. Very few officers had officially paid residential telephones, and even where they did, a register was scrupulously maintained to segregate the official from the private calls.

And there was no concept of camp offices along with staff. I could go on, but one can understand how different the lives of our civil servants used to be. It was not always multiple large cars bristling with armed guards, all at the public’s expense. The National Austerity Committee should bring back the old, frugal ways.

Dr Anwar Kabir Sheikh

Lahore