The federal government has introduced three major changes to the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme, including the removal of the five-litre petrol limit per relief token, in a move aimed at facilitating motorcycle, rickshaw and Qingqi users.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima announced the changes during a media briefing on Saturday, saying the measures were introduced in response to public feedback and difficulties faced by beneficiaries.
Eligibility extended to older motorcycles
Fatima said the eligibility criteria for motorcycles had been expanded to include vehicles registered from January 1, 2006. Previously, only motorcycles registered from 2011 onwards were eligible for the scheme.
She said the decision followed feedback from citizens and journalists who had raised concerns about the exclusion of older motorcycles.
The minister also announced the removal of the five-litre petrol limit previously applicable to each relief token for two- and three-wheelers.
Under the revised mechanism, eligible motorcycle, Qingqi and rickshaw users can purchase fuel according to their requirements while receiving a relief amount of Rs500 per token.
Eligible users can receive four tokens each month, with each token providing Rs500 in relief. For example, if two litres of petrol cost Rs780, a beneficiary would pay Rs280 after applying the Rs500 relief token.
SMS charges abolished
The third major change is the removal of SMS charges for all beneficiaries.
“SMS has been made free for everyone, whether they own an 800cc vehicle or a two or three-wheeler,” Fatima said.
She said the changes were aimed at making the scheme more accessible and ensuring that citizens could benefit from the relief without facing unnecessary difficulties.
According to the minister, more than 1.75 million registrations had been completed by 3pm, while around 1.5 million relief tokens had been generated. More than 680,000 tokens had already been redeemed at petrol stations.
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Govt sets up control room to address complaints
Fatima said the government was closely monitoring registration and token redemption figures, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally overseeing implementation of the scheme.
A steering committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and an implementation committee are coordinating with relevant ministries, departments, OGRA, the State Bank of Pakistan and other institutions to address implementation-related issues.
A 24-hour control room has also been established at the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to receive and resolve complaints.
The minister urged citizens to remain cautious of fraudsters, stressing that the government was not charging any fee for registration, SMS services or issuance of fuel relief tokens.
She advised beneficiaries not to share their CNIC numbers, vehicle registration details or other personal information with unauthorised individuals.
Citizens and petrol station operators facing problems with registration, token validation or other technical issues can lodge complaints through helpline 9771.
Registration to remain available through SMS
Fatima said applicants must 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 vehicle registrations.
The minister also clarified that ownership of a motorcycle, Qingqi or rickshaw was not mandatory if the applicant had the relevant vehicle documents and custody.
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 receive tokens according to the prescribed schedule.
Fatima said the registration and complaint process had deliberately been kept on ordinary SMS so that people without smartphones or internet access could also benefit from the scheme.
She added that the government would continue reviewing public feedback and introduce further changes where necessary to make the fuel relief scheme easier and more accessible for citizens.
