Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday instructed authorities to revoke the licences of petrol pumps that refuse to provide subsidised fuel to registered recipients under the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Programme. He warned that strict measures would be taken against outlets denying eligible citizens access to the facility.
The order was announced during a high-level meeting chaired by the prime minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Islamabad, where officials reviewed the programme’s progress and evaluated its implementation nationwide.
Shehbaz instructed the concerned departments to make sure registered beneficiaries could receive subsidised fuel without facing any difficulties and that all petrol stations followed the government’s directives.
Saying he was satisfied with the programme’s progress and transparency, the prime minister stated, “As a result of simplifying the process of registration and obtaining subsidies, there has been an increase in registrations, and more deserving citizens are benefiting from this facility.”
He termed the technology-based and transparent subsidy system a potential “game-changer for such public welfare initiatives in the future”.
The prime minister also praised IT Minister Shaza Fatima, Federal Secretary Zarar Hashim Khan and their respective teams for developing an efficient monitoring system and dashboard to track the programme’s implementation.
Officials informed the meeting that a total of 15,519,282 people had registered for the subsidy scheme to date. Among them, 15.06 million were motorcycle owners, while 449,800 were owners of vehicles with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
The briefing further revealed that 63,153,685 fuel subsidy tokens had been distributed, with 59,445,347 already redeemed, bringing the redemption rate to slightly above 94%.
By November 4, payments totalling Rs28.6 billion had been disbursed through the programme, representing 38% of the overall funds allocated by the government. Earlier, on September 14, the Cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee had approved Rs75 billion for the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme.
The meeting was also briefed on the establishment of dedicated call centres for consumers and petrol station operators to assist beneficiaries, respond to complaints and provide information about the scheme.
Shehbaz emphasised the need to maintain an efficient monitoring system, ensuring that the subsidy reached all eligible recipients fairly, without discrimination or bureaucratic hurdles.
Previous Discussions and Decisions
The latest instructions follow previous reports of difficulties in implementing the scheme, along with complaints about the provision of subsidised fuel at petrol stations.
According to a report published by The Express Tribune on October 25, approximately 31,000 consumers had been unable to receive the subsidy. In response, the government directed authorities to conduct an audit of fuel stations and resolve errors in the registration process.
The report pointed out several issues, including denial of service, technical glitches, expired tokens, and inconsistencies in registration records. Officials also considered monitoring individual petrol stations through the IT ministry’s dashboard and conducting audits of outlets showing unusually low token redemption rates.
Earlier, on September 16, Prime Minister Shehbaz had instructed authorities to set up facilitation desks at petrol stations to assist citizens with registration and access to the subsidy. These desks were planned to include administrative personnel, volunteers, and petrol station employees.
The initiative was launched following the nationwide introduction of the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme, which was designed to provide assistance to motorcycle, rickshaw and small-car owners.
On September 14, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, gave approval to the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme. Under the approved plan, owners of two- and three-wheelers were eligible to receive Rs500 per week, covering five litres of fuel at a subsidy rate of Rs100 per litre. Meanwhile, owners of cars with engine capacities of up to 800cc were entitled to Rs1,000 every 10 days.
The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication was assigned the responsibility of introducing and operating the digital Fuel Pass System to ensure that subsidies were distributed transparently.
The scheme was introduced after a series of discussions between federal and provincial authorities on providing targeted fuel assistance in response to increasing global oil prices.
