Petroleum minister says support will target vulnerable motorcycle and rickshaw users as government seeks to contain fuel costs
Pakistan’s government will spend around Rs25 billion a month under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s special petrol relief scheme, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Monday, as authorities seek to protect vulnerable consumers from high fuel costs.
Addressing a press conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Malik said the government was making efforts to provide relief despite limited resources.
“The Prime Minister wants this support to continue for the weakest segments of society until a solution to the situation is found,” Malik said.
He said it was too early to provide an exact estimate of beneficiaries because Pakistan has around 20 million motorcycles, while eligibility would depend on registration periods and other criteria.
The minister said around 1.5 million motorcycles had benefited from the previous relief scheme. The latest initiative will cover two-wheelers and three-wheelers, with the government expecting monthly expenditure of about Rs25 billion.
Malik said the federal government and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had assured the resources required to operate the programme.
On fuel prices, Malik said diesel was currently available in Pakistan at around Rs400 to Rs405 per litre, depending on location and the fuel station, despite substantially higher international prices.
He said the government had created room for relief through engagement with local refineries and changes to the pricing mechanism. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed authorities to develop a formula based on crude oil prices rather than relying entirely on refined-product prices.
“This intervention” had contributed to a reduction in diesel prices, Malik said.
The minister stressed the importance of diesel to transportation and agriculture and said petroleum pricing components had been made publicly available through the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) website.
Malik said greater transparency would allow consumers to examine the basis of fuel prices and address concerns that domestic prices fall slowly when international rates decline but rise quickly when global prices increase.
Pakistan requires around 500,000 barrels of petroleum products a day and continues to import refined products to meet domestic demand. Imported fuel is priced in dollars and linked to international benchmarks and relevant agreements.
Malik said the government also wanted to gradually remove barriers to private-sector investment, arguing that greater investment and technology could improve efficiency and productivity.
He added that local refinery utilisation had increased, with PARCO operating at 100% and PSO’s refinery at around 70%.