Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Sunday announced the closure of all Utility Stores across the country starting today, saying a compensation package worth Rs19.5 billion has been allocated for the USC employees.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the minister stated that the prime minister has approved a package for the Utility Stores employees, and a total of Rs19.5 billion will be paid among 11,614 USC employees.

“We are introducing a consensus-based package for the employees,” he added.

The minister said that USC’s assets, including properties across Pakistan, will also be auctioned.

Tariq Fazal further said that a Rs28 billion package has been approved for the Utility Stores employees — Rs13.18 billion for regular employees, Rs3.6 billion for contract employees, and Rs2 billion for daily wage workers.

He remarked, “It is with a heavy heart that I say this — it would have been good if the institution could continue operating. But Utility Stores have been incurring a loss of Rs600 million every month. We made every effort to keep them functional.”