Overview
- A Thursday emergency meeting led by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik resolved a deadlock with the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association and produced a formal payment mechanism for the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme.
- The State Bank of Pakistan committed to process subsidy reimbursement claims and transfer funds to dealers’ accounts within 48 hours, and funds for three months were earmarked with Rs25 billion released for the first month.
- Dealers had previously refused to implement the Rs100 per litre cut without a clear reimbursement route, but office bearers said they have begun applying the subsidy at petrol pumps after the agreement.
- The Ministry of IT rolled out a digital system to handle claims and set up a dedicated control room reachable at 9772 to assist petrol stations with technical or payment issues.
- The scheme targets motorcycles, rickshaws, Chingchis and cars up to 800cc registered after January 1, 2011, and its immediate impact will be lower pump prices for everyday commuters while authorities monitor claim processing and the forthcoming formal government notification.