ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Federal Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Friday that around 5.91 million citizens had been registered under the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme since its launch.
Addressing a news conference along with Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, she said over 6.18 million fuel relief tokens had been generated, of which 4.79m had been successfully redeemed.
Reiterating that the government had removed the five-litre limit for motorcycles, rickshaws and Qingqi following public feedback, she said the ownership requirement had also been removed for motorcycle and rickshaw users who used rented vehicles.
She said that amid volatility in global oil markets resulting from regional tensions in the Middle East, the fuel relief scheme was aimed at providing direct and targeted relief to citizens most affected by rising fuel costs.
She reiterated that the scheme provided fuel relief to eligible two- and three-wheelers, including motorcycles, Qingqi and rickshaws, as well as cars up to 800cc.
The scheme had been designed to ensure that relief reached eligible citizens through a simple, transparent and technology-enabled mechanism.
The IT minister also displayed a live dashboard showing the total number of registrations, tokens generated and redeemed, as well as the provincial breakdown of the figures.
Token figures
The province- and region-wise breakdown of redeemed tokens included 210,032 in Islamabad Capital Territory, 3.07m in Punjab, 1.21m in Sindh, 267,460 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6,761 in Balochistan, 23,796 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 4,845 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The minister underscored that the figures reflected the broad outreach of the scheme, with eligible citizens across all provinces and regions availing themselves of fuel relief.
She said a 24/7 control room at the IT and Telecommunication Ministry was monitoring implementation of the scheme across the country.
The control room was overseeing the process from registration and token generation to redemption, with a focus on ensuring transparency and timely resolution of issues.
She said citizens facing any difficulty or requiring assistance regarding the scheme could call 9771 or visit the official website pmfuelrelief.pk for information and support.
Ms Fatima said provincial governments and their administrations were playing an important role in overseeing the programme.
She said around three meetings were being held daily to monitor its implementation, while officials were also present on the ground.
She said she had personally visited petrol stations where people were facing problems and observed the implementation of the scheme.
Awareness campaigns
The minister thanked petrol pump dealers, oil marketing companies and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for facilitating citizens under the scheme and urged petrol pump staff to assist eligible people with registration and provide information about the facility.
She said the government was conducting awareness campaigns and would also use the media to reach more people, particularly those affected by higher petrol prices.
The minister said the government was also monitoring petrol stations through a live GIS map to identify facilities being used and address problems.
Regarding older motorcycles, Ms Fatima said she had seen very few cases involving motorcycles registered before 2006.
She added that there were some old cars, including Suzuki FX models, but said most of the people targeted by the subsidy were receiving the facility.
She said the scheme was continuing smoothly and petrol pumps were being paid within a 24-hour cycle.
