The federal government  announced closure of restaurants and markets across the country by 8pm as a new plan for energy conservation has been unveiled.

Defence Minister Khwaja Asif briefied the media on the decision taken by the federal cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He said banquet halls would be closed by 10pm.

“Markets in other parts of the world are shut down by 6pm but they remain open beyond midnight in Pakistan,” he said. He hoped that the decision would help Pakistan save 8,000 to 9,000 megawatts of electricity and Rs62 billion in a year.