Federal Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja announced on Friday that approximately 5.91 million citizens had registered under the Prime Minister Fuel Relief Scheme since its launch, with over 6.18 million fuel relief tokens generated and 4.79 million successfully redeemed across the country. The minister addressed a news conference alongside Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, presenting a live dashboard that showed total registrations, tokens generated and redeemed, as well as a provincial and regional breakdown of redemption figures, signalling the government’s effort to demonstrate real-time transparency in the scheme’s implementation.
The provincial breakdown of redeemed tokens showed Punjab leading with 3.07 million redemptions, followed by Sindh with 1.21 million, Islamabad Capital Territory with 210,032, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 267,460, Azad Jammu and Kashmir with 23,796, Balochistan with 6,761, and Gilgit-Baltistan with 4,845. The minister reiterated that following public feedback the government had removed the five-litre limit previously applicable to motorcycles, rickshaws, and Qingqi, and had also removed the ownership requirement for motorcycle and rickshaw users who operate rented rather than personally owned vehicles, making the scheme accessible to a wider group of eligible beneficiaries including those who depend on rented transport for their livelihoods.
The scheme was designed to provide direct and targeted fuel relief to eligible two- and three-wheelers including motorcycles, Qingqi, and rickshaws, as well as cars up to 800cc, through a simple, transparent, and technology-enabled mechanism. The IT Ministry has established a 24/7 control room to monitor implementation of the scheme across the country, overseeing the full process from registration and token generation through to redemption, with a focus on transparency and timely resolution of issues. The minister said around three meetings are held daily to monitor implementation, while officials are also present on the ground at petrol stations, with the minister herself having personally visited petrol pumps to observe the scheme in action and identify areas where citizens were facing difficulties.
Citizens facing any difficulty or requiring information regarding the scheme can call 9771 or visit the official website at pmfuelrelief.pk. The minister thanked petrol pump dealers, oil marketing companies, and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority for facilitating citizens under the scheme and urged petrol pump staff to actively assist eligible people with registration. The government said it was conducting awareness campaigns and would use media channels to reach more people affected by higher petrol prices, with the ministry also monitoring petrol stations through a live Geographic Information System map to identify facilities being used and address operational problems as they arise. Petrol pumps are being paid within a 24-hour cycle, the minister confirmed, describing the scheme as continuing smoothly.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
