ISLAMABAD: In a bid to “ease the burden” of rising fuel prices, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched a special relief scheme under which motorcyclists, rickshaw and chingchi owners, and owners of vehicles up to 800cc will receive a Rs100 per litre petrol subsidy.
The development comes a couple of days after the government further increased the price of petrol by Rs3.05 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs5.37 per litre, effective from Friday through Monday, marking the fourth consecutive hike in petroleum prices.
The scheme will be implemented in Islamabad from Monday night and across Pakistan, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, from Wednesday night. Registration began on Sunday, while details of the registration process will be communicated through an awareness campaign.
PM Shehbaz stated the government fully recognised the burden being placed on the public by higher oil prices and would not leave people alone in the difficult situation. He thanked the provinces for their cooperation in providing information on motorcycles, rickshaws and small vehicles to facilitate registration under the relief scheme’.
It is pertinent to mention that amid heightened volatility in global oil markets triggered by renewed hostilities in the Middle East, the government had decided in July to shift to a daily fuel price review mechanism.
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