Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that due to government decisions, sufficient quantities of petroleum products are available to meet the country’s domestic needs.
He made the remarks while chairing a meeting held to review fuel conservation and austerity measures in view of the prevailing regional situation. The meeting was attended via video link by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers including Ahsan Iqbal, Mohammad Aurangzeb, Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Mussadiq Malik, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Owais Leghari, along with State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and other senior officials.
The prime minister said the government has prioritised public relief in the current situation and has managed to provide support over the past three weeks where possible. He noted that the federal government allocated 125 billion rupees to prevent increases in fuel prices, financed through savings and reductions in the development budget.
He urged citizens to cooperate with the government’s austerity drive by avoiding unnecessary travel and encouraged the use of teleconferencing at workplaces and offices.
Shehbaz Sharif also directed provincial governments to facilitate motorcycle and rickshaw owners in registering their vehicles under their own names. He said this would help digitise data across the country and enable owners to benefit from government relief measures.
The prime minister further instructed relevant authorities to accelerate coordination with chief secretaries of all four provinces as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to ensure smooth implementation of these initiatives.