- The meeting reviews oil reserves, relief measures amid the ongoing crisis.
- Subsidy to carriers transferred under a transparent system.
- The government promises to prioritize aid for economically vulnerable groups.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that relief payments to public carriers and freight carriers are now being transferred through digital wallets as part of measures to ease the ongoing fuel crisis and support those worst hit by rising oil prices.
In a statement on X, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Shehbaz chaired a meeting to review the country’s oil reserves and the government’s measures to support people during the ongoing crisis.
“The disbursement of relief funds to individuals operating public transport and goods vehicles has begun through digital wallets,” the PMO quoted the prime minister as saying.
“Subsidies are now digitally transferred to public transport buses and coaches as well as goods transport trucks and wagons under an efficient and transparent system,” he added.
Sharif emphasized that the government is working to ensure that aid reaches economically vulnerable groups as quickly as possible.
“We will not abandon our people in difficult times.”
The government’s top priority is to provide emergency aid to the population in challenging circumstances.
The money saved through government austerity will be spent on the public,” he said.
The statement said Prime Minister Shehbaz was updated on the progress of initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of rising oil prices.
He was assured that sufficient fuel reserves are in place to meet the country’s needs.
The briefing also covered the overall implementation of emergency relief measures for the public.
The announcement comes after fuel prices rose sharply due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, according to the PMP statement.
It is to be noted that the prices of the two most consumed fuels – petrol and diesel – were hiked by Rs 55 per liter on March 6 and the government introduced strict austerity measures on March 9 to tackle the situation.
Since then, fuel prices have seen a massive increase due to high crude oil prices around the world, triggering an unprecedented wave of inflation in the country.
