More than 15 million people have so far benefited from the PM Fuel Relief Scheme, with about Rs27 billion paid out for subsidised petroleum products, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Monday in Islamabad.
Speaking at a press conference with Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Tarar said the payments cover fuel sold at lower rates to eligible consumers and that petrol pumps are also being reimbursed for those sales. He described the programme as a major public welfare step taken on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Who can get cheaper fuel
Tarar said the scheme supplies petrol at subsidised rates to motorcycles, Qingqi rickshaws and vehicles with an engine capacity of up to 800cc. More than 15 million registrations have been completed under the PM Fuel Relief Scheme, he added, and the initiative has been rolled out across the country.
He said the effort involved coordinated work by the Ministry of Information Technology, the Ministry of Petroleum, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA, Pakistan’s oil and gas price regulator) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP, the country’s central bank). The minister said the scheme would continue to help eligible consumers.
Petrol price rise held back
Alongside the subsidy, Tarar said the government had prevented an increase of Rs15 per litre in petrol prices and shifted that extra cost to oil refineries instead of consumers. He said the prime minister’s aim from the start had been to ease the financial load on the public, and that refineries would bear an estimated monthly burden of about Rs15 billion.
He linked global energy pressure to developments in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, saying Pakistan had felt regional effects but that its macroeconomic indicators remained positive. The prime minister, he said, had ordered that the impact of the changing international situation should not be passed on to the public.
Supply and next steps
Responding to questions, Tarar said there was no shortage of essential commodities and that cargo arrivals and supply chains had been kept running to meet national needs. He urged people to avoid speculation and unverified rumours.
Officials presented the fuel relief effort as ongoing: registrations already exceed 15 million, roughly Rs27 billion has been released, pump reimbursements continue, and the government says the PM Fuel Relief Scheme will keep serving eligible users nationwide.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sarkar ke mutabiq PM Fuel Relief Scheme ke tehat ab tak 1.5 crore se zyada logon ko faida mil chuka hai aur lagbhag 27 arab rupay diya ja chuka hai. Motorcycle, Qingqi aur 800cc tak ki gaariyon ko sasta petrol mil raha hai. Petrol ke Rs15 fi litre mehnga hone se bhi rok diya gaya, aur yeh bojh refineries par daal diya gaya. Chhoti gaari chalane walon ke liye yeh scheme abhi jari rahegi.
