PM orders licence cancellation over fuel relief refusal under petroleum subsidy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the cancellation of licences of petrol pumps that refuse to provide fuel subsidies to registered beneficiaries. He also expressed satisfaction with the progress and transparency of the programme.

PM orders strict action against petrol pumps

Chairing a high-level meeting on the Prime Minister Fuel Relief Programme, Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to ensure that all eligible citizens receive the promised subsidy. He said petrol pumps failing to facilitate registered beneficiaries should face strict action, including licence cancellation.

The prime minister said the government had made the registration and subsidy process easier, which had encouraged more people to join the programme. He added that more deserving citizens were now benefiting from the facility.

Over 15.5 million people registered

The meeting was informed that a total of 15,519,282 people had registered under the fuel subsidy scheme. Around 15 million of them are motorcycle owners.

Officials said the programme had issued 63,153,685 fuel subsidy tokens so far. Of these, 59,445,347 tokens had been used or redeemed by beneficiaries.

Rs28.6 billion paid under fuel relief scheme

According to the briefing, the government had paid Rs28.6 billion under the fuel subsidy programme by November 4. The payments are being made to provide financial relief to eligible citizens facing high fuel costs.

Shehbaz Sharif said the technology-based subsidy system could become an important model for future public welfare programmes. He described the transparent system as a major step towards improving public services.

Separate helplines established for complaints

The government has established separate call centres for consumers and petrol pumps to provide information and address complaints. These facilities are intended to help beneficiaries resolve problems related to registration, fuel tokens and subsidy payments.

The authorities are expected to monitor the programme to ensure that eligible people receive the full benefit. Petrol pumps have also been directed to cooperate with the scheme and facilitate registered customers.

The government is taking a strict approach to ensure that petrol pumps follow the fuel subsidy programme. The cancellation of licences could become a major warning for stations that refuse to provide the promised relief.

With more than 15.5 million people registered and Rs28.6 billion already paid, the programme has reached a large number of beneficiaries. Its success will depend on transparent payments, proper monitoring and quick action on public complaints.

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