Islamabad, September 14, 2026: Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Monday estimated that the government’s fuel relief scheme would cost between Rs25 billion and Rs30 billion per month, with the total expenditure potentially reaching around Rs300 billion if the programme continues for 10 months.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Federal Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Malik said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had directed the government to mobilise additional resources to sustain the relief programme.
The Prime Minister launched the scheme on Sunday, announcing a Rs100-per-litre discount on petrol for motorcyclists, rickshaw and Qingqi drivers and users of vehicles with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
Under the scheme, motorcycles, rickshaws and other two- and three-wheelers will be eligible for relief on up to 20 litres of petrol per month, while vehicles up to 800cc will receive the discount on up to 30 litres.
The relief will be introduced in Islamabad from the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday and across the rest of Pakistan, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, from the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the programme had been divided into two stages, with eligible citizens required to register before receiving the fuel relief.
Applicants must send their CNIC number through a SIM registered against their identity card to 9771, followed by their vehicle registration number, province or city and registration date.
She clarified that the province entered in the registration process must correspond to the province where the vehicle or motorcycle is registered.
Applicants would receive a message if any required information was missing, while registration would only need to be completed once.
After successful registration, beneficiaries can obtain a fuel token by sending “TOK” to 9771 when purchasing petrol.
The IT minister urged citizens not to share their CNIC numbers or other personal information with anyone, stressing that the government would neither seek additional data nor charge any fee for registration.
She said any technical or procedural errors identified during implementation would be addressed and rectified.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the relief scheme had been introduced specifically to support deserving citizens following the sharp increase in fuel prices.
He said the government had adopted a transparent mechanism and that the Prime Minister had issued instructions to all relevant ministries to ensure effective implementation.
Tarar said government ministries and departments would remain available around the clock to facilitate citizens under the programme.
He added that the Prime Minister had directed that public transport fares should not be increased after the fuel relief was provided.
The minister said the government was also implementing a range of austerity measures, with some existing measures retained and others under review.
Ali Pervaiz Malik said the Prime Minister did not want to place any additional financial burden on citizens and had therefore directed officials to mobilise resources for the relief programme.
He noted that Pakistan imports around 90 per cent of its energy requirements, making the country vulnerable to fluctuations in international fuel prices.
Malik said the government had previously arranged resources for fuel subsidies and had also implemented a targeted relief package that remained in place until June 30.
Referring to diesel prices, he said the fuel had been priced between Rs270 and Rs280 per litre before the war, adding that its price in Pakistan had not yet doubled.
The petroleum minister stressed that most public transport vehicles operate on diesel, making it important to prevent any increase in fares.
He said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar had been tasked with consulting the provinces on the issue and coordinating measures to ensure that public transport fares remained stable.
