Govt taking steps to ease burden on lower and middle-class amid fuel price hike: PM Shehbaz

The government is working to provide relief to the lower and middle classes of the country as a result of the hike in fuel prices due to the global fuel crisis, Prime Minister Shehbaz said on Monday.

Over the course of the last few weeks, the government has taken a number of austerity measures to cut fuel consumption and announced a huge cut in development and non-development expenditures.

In a meeting held to review the impact of the Middle East war on the oil reserves of the country and the measures taken to provide relief to the people, the prime minister was informed that the government was working in collaboration with the provincial government “to finalise the process of registration for motorcycle and rickshaw owners so that they could benefit from the government’s schemes,” a statement issued through the Prime Minister’s House (PMO) said.

On March 17, the government announced that it was working on a plan for a subsidised fuel scheme for motorcyclists and rickshaw drivers.

“We will not leave the economically weaker section of the society alone in this hour of difficulty,” the premier vowed.

While going into further detail on what measures have been taken, the prime minister said that “the government has reduced its expenditure in various sectors, including cuts in budgets in the development sector. The government is also not using 60 percent of its vehicles.”

The prime minister said that “the government had decided not to increase oil prices but instead utilize that amount for the relief of citizens.”

The prime minister said that “the government will be using a digital system for providing relief to citizens.”

The prime minister said that “due to the government’s timely decision regarding the fuel crisis, there was no disruption in fuel supply for the country.”

The prime minister also discussed “Pakistan’s efforts regarding maintaining peace in the Middle East.”

The “implementation of measures aimed at fuel conservation, the future course of action and the current fuel stock” was also discussed, according to the press release.

An audit report by the Intelligence Bureau on “the implementation of the measures and progress in the austerity campaign” was also presented during the meeting.