More than five million people have registered for the Prime Minister’s Petrol Subsidy Scheme across Pakistan, a high-level briefing on the initiative has revealed, with officials reporting that fuel relief tokens are being issued successfully and that most operational issues at petrol stations have been resolved.
The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, was attended by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, IT Minister Shaza Fatima, the Minister of State for Finance, and representatives of relevant institutions and provincial governments. The Ministry of IT and the Pakistan Digital Authority delivered a detailed briefing on the Fuel Relief Scheme, according to the information shared at the session.
Officials informed the meeting that the petrol subsidy scheme had drawn registrations from more than five million people nationwide. They said most issues related to registration and other matters at petrol stations had been settled, while payments had also been made to the majority of petrol stations. State Bank officials told the meeting that pending payment-related issues would be resolved within one to two days.
Cheema said the Fuel Relief Scheme was being implemented successfully across the country in line with the prime minister’s directives. He directed officials to immediately resolve registration issues faced by Qingqi rickshaws and loaders, stressing that eligible owners should not be deprived of fuel relief.
The meeting was told that unregistered rickshaws and loaders were facing difficulties because they did not possess the required excise registration. Provincial governments have, however, started the registration process for rickshaws. Once registration is completed, eligible rickshaws will be included in the Fuel Relief Scheme.
Cheema also ordered that a portal for addressing complaints related to registration and token issuance be activated at the earliest. The Pakistan Digital Authority informed the meeting that efforts were underway to activate the complaints portal soon.
The session was further informed that registered motorcycle owners were already benefiting from the Fuel Relief Scheme. Cheema said real-time data on the scheme would be kept updated in accordance with the prime minister’s directives, and he expressed satisfaction with the performance of provincial governments and district administrations, saying the system was being further improved in light of feedback received from members of parliament.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said every possible effort was being made to inform the public about the Fuel Relief Scheme, adding that public awareness campaigns and grassroots outreach activities were underway.
With millions of registrations recorded and payment and registration bottlenecks being cleared, officials signalled that the petrol subsidy scheme is moving toward fuller implementation, though outstanding issues concerning unregistered rickshaws and loaders, along with the pending complaints portal, remain the immediate priorities for the authorities involved.
Source: ARY News