PM Shehbaz Announces Continuation of Fuel Subsidy Scheme for Millions of Beneficiaries

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the government’s fuel subsidy scheme will continue to facilitate the public, revealing that more than 10 million people have benefited from the initiative at least once.

The prime minister made the announcement while addressing a ceremony and luncheon held in honour of ministers and officials involved in providing direct fuel subsidies to eligible citizens through a transparent digital mechanism.

Shehbaz Sharif praised the cooperation between the federal and provincial governments, describing the scheme’s progress as the result of strong teamwork, dedication and sustained efforts by the relevant ministries and institutions.

He said the government had allocated Rs75 billion for the scheme and reaffirmed its commitment to continuing the initiative for public relief.

The prime minister expressed his appreciation to the provincial chief ministers and their teams, saying their administrative and financial cooperation had been essential to the programme’s success. He said he had also written letters to the chief ministers to personally thank them for their support.

Recalling an earlier initiative launched when the war began in February, Shehbaz said the number of tokens issued at that time had reached a peak of 1.3 million. The government had subsequently faced concerns about whether the subsidy programme could be implemented efficiently on a much larger scale.

However, he said, the combined efforts of the federal and provincial governments had enabled the number of beneficiaries to exceed 10 million.

According to figures shared by the prime minister, more than 10.88 million citizens have registered for the scheme, while vouchers have been issued to approximately 10.198 million people. A total of 27 million tokens have been issued, of which 19.4 million have been used by citizens to obtain petrol at subsidised rates.

He said approximately 9.277 million citizens had received and used tokens more than once, adding that around 96 per cent of motorcyclists had benefited from the scheme.

The initiative provides monthly fuel relief of Rs2,000 to eligible owners of motorcycles, Qingqi vehicles, rickshaws and cars with engines of up to 800cc, according to the figures cited by the prime minister.

Shehbaz said the scheme’s benefits extended beyond direct recipients to their families. Citing an average household size of five people, he estimated that around 50 million people could be benefiting directly or indirectly from the initiative.

The prime minister also commended the Petroleum Division, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), State Bank of Pakistan, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecommunications operators for their role in implementing the programme.

He specifically acknowledged the efforts of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani, and the relevant ministries, secretaries and their teams.

The prime minister said the successful implementation of the scheme demonstrated the importance of cooperation between federal and provincial authorities in delivering relief to the public.