Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday announced a “special relief package” for motorcyclists, rickshaw and chingchi owners, and drivers of vehicles up to 800cc, granting them Rs. 100/liter discount on petrol amidst mounting fuel prices due to conflict in the Middle East.
In the latest revision under the daily price fixation mechanism, applicable for Sept. 12-14, the government set the retail price of petrol at Rs. 375.82/liter and that of high-speed diesel at Rs. 403.32/liter. This marked the sixth consecutive rise in fuel prices.
In his announcement, the prime minister maintained the government was aware of the inflationary burden on the public, adding people would not be abandoned in these difficult times. “We are launching a special scheme to reduce the burden of rising fuel prices on those using motorcycles, rickshaws, chingchis and small vehicles,” he said.
Under the scheme, motorcycles, rickshaws and other two and three-wheeled vehicles would receive Rs. 100/liter relief on up to 20 liters of petrol per month. Owners of cars up to 800cc engine capacity would receive Rs. 100/liter relief on up to 30 liters of petrol per month.
The scheme would come into effect in Islamabad from midnight on Monday (today), while would be rolled out in the rest of Pakistan from midnight on Wednesday.
Sharif also thanked the provincial governments for their cooperation in sharing vehicle registration data to facilitate the scheme’s implementation.
Relief procedure
In a statement, the Information Ministry outlined the procedure for eligible citizens wishing to avail the discounted fuel. It directed citizens to text ‘REG’ followed by their CNIC number to 9771 from a SIM registered under their name. It said they would also have to provide their vehicle number, provincial code (‘S’ for Sindh; ‘P’ for Punjab; ‘B’ for Balochistan; ‘A’ for AJK; ‘G’ for Gilgit-Baltistan; ‘I’ for Islamabad; and ‘K’ for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), and the vehicle registration date.
After successful registration, applicants would receive a confirmation message. Subsequently, prior to visiting a petrol pump, registered citizens would need to send ‘TOK’ to 9771. They would then need to show the received token to the petrol station before receiving discounted petrol.
The latest relief measure follows a surge in global fuel prices amidst tensions between Iran and the United States, as well as a parallel conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni Houthis. Since the resumption of tensions in July, the government shifted to a daily price fixation mechanism, passing on the full impact of global fuel prices to consumers. The prices also include over Rs. 100/liter in the form of levy and taxes.