ISLAMABAD(The COW News Digital) The federal government has announced the procedure for citizens to avail themselves of a petrol subsidy of up to Rs100 per litre under a new relief programme targeting owners of motorcycles, three-wheelers and small cars.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad alongside Federal Ministers Atta Tarar and Ali Pervaiz Malik, IT Minister Shaza Fatima said the scheme would provide targeted relief to people using smaller vehicles.
According to the minister, owners of two- and three-wheelers will be eligible for relief on up to 20 litres of petrol, while owners of vehicles with engine capacity of up to 800cc will receive the subsidy on up to 30 litres.
The government has divided the process into two stages, beginning with registration.
For registration, eligible citizens are required to send an SMS from a mobile SIM registered against their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). The message must contain “REG,” followed by the CNIC number, the first letter representing the province and the vehicle or motorcycle registration date, and must be sent to 9771.
Once registration has been completed, consumers will need to request a transaction token when they are ready to purchase petrol. For this purpose, they have been instructed to send “TOK” to 9771.
The consumer will then receive a token, which must be presented at the petrol station to claim the applicable subsidy.
Shaza Fatima urged citizens to remain cautious about fraudulent activities and emphasized that personal information should not be shared with anyone. She said the government would neither ask citizens to provide their personal data to individuals nor demand any additional charges for the subsidy programme.
She added that any problems or errors encountered during implementation would be reviewed and addressed as the programme progresses.
The government has also announced separate start dates for the subsidy programme. Residents of Islamabad will be able to access the relief from midnight between September 14 and 15, while eligible citizens across the rest of the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, will be able to receive the relief from midnight between September 16 and 17.
The initiative is aimed at providing targeted fuel relief to owners of smaller vehicles amid continuing concerns over rising transportation and fuel costs.
Citizens seeking the subsidy are advised to follow only the officially announced registration procedure and avoid sharing their CNIC information, banking details or verification codes with unauthorized individuals.
Further details regarding eligibility, verification and implementation are expected to emerge as the programme becomes operational nationwide.
