Islamabad, September 19, 2026: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima on Saturday announced three major changes to the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme aimed at facilitating beneficiaries, particularly motorcycle, rickshaw and Qingqi users.
Addressing a media briefing, the minister said the eligibility criteria had been expanded to include motorcycles registered from January 1, 2006, instead of the previous 2011 cut-off.
She said the decision followed feedback from citizens and journalists regarding the eligibility of older motorcycles.
The minister also announced changes to the fuel token mechanism for two- and three-wheelers. The previous five-litre limit per token had been abolished, allowing eligible motorcycle, Qingqi and rickshaw users to purchase fuel according to their requirements.
Under the revised mechanism, eligible two- and three-wheeler users would receive four tokens per month, with each token carrying a relief amount of Rs500.
“For example, if two litres of petrol cost Rs780, the beneficiary would pay Rs280 after applying the Rs500 relief token,” Fatima explained.
The third major change was the abolition of SMS charges for all beneficiaries. Fatima said SMS services would now be free for everyone, whether they owned an 800cc vehicle or a two- or three-wheeler.
She said the measures were intended to expand the scheme’s reach and address difficulties being faced by citizens during implementation.
According to the minister, more than 1.75 million registrations had been completed by 3pm, while around 1.5 million fuel tokens had been generated. More than 680,000 tokens had already been redeemed at petrol stations.
Fatima said the government was closely monitoring registration and token redemption figures, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally overseeing implementation of the scheme.
She said a steering committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and an implementation committee were working with relevant ministries, departments, OGRA, the State Bank of Pakistan and other institutions to resolve implementation-related issues.
A 24-hour control room has also been established at the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to receive and address complaints, she added.
The minister urged citizens to remain vigilant against fraudsters, stressing that the government had imposed no charges for registration, SMS services or issuance of fuel tokens.
She advised beneficiaries not to pay anyone for registration, tokens or information about the scheme and warned them against sharing their CNIC numbers, vehicle registration details or other personal information with unauthorised persons.
Beneficiaries facing problems at petrol stations or during registration can lodge complaints by calling 9771. Petrol station operators using the token-validation application can also report technical and other issues through the same helpline.
Fatima said district and provincial administrations were supporting implementation, while banners and information about the registration process had been displayed at petrol stations.
Registration procedure
Explaining the registration process, the minister said applicants had to send an SMS to 9771 containing their CNIC number, vehicle registration number, province code and vehicle registration date. The vehicle registration number must be entered without spaces.
She said the registration date had been added as an additional verification measure to prevent unauthorised registration of vehicles.
Fatima clarified that ownership of a motorcycle, Qingqi or rickshaw was not mandatory if the user possessed the relevant vehicle documents and had custody of the vehicle.
Eligible motorcycle, Qingqi and rickshaw users can send “TOK” to 9771 once a week to obtain their fuel relief token, while eligible car users can obtain tokens according to the prescribed schedule.
The minister emphasised that the entire registration and complaint process had been kept on ordinary SMS so that people without smartphones or internet access could also benefit from the scheme.
Responding to a question, Fatima said the government was continuously reviewing public feedback and would introduce further improvements where necessary to make the scheme easier and more accessible for citizens.
