Dar stresses smooth fuel relief scheme rollout

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday stressed the need for continued coordination among relevant authorities to facilitate beneficiaries and ensure the uninterrupted provision of services under the Prime Minister's Special Fuel Relief Scheme across the country. Dar made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the National Steering Committee on the scheme following his return from New York, according to his post on X. The meeting reviewed the implementation of the fuel relief initiative, including beneficiary registration, issuance and redemption of tokens, payments and mechanisms for addressing complaints, it added. It further said officials briefed the committee that around 7.6 million consumers had so far been successfully registered under the scheme. The meeting was also informed that 7.71 million fuel tokens had been redeemed, with the token redemption process having entered its second week, the statement added. DPM Dar expressed satisfaction with the progress of the scheme, saying its implementation was the result of joint and coordinated efforts by all relevant government institutions. The meeting appreciated the coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Petroleum, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), State Bank of Pakistan and provincial governments. Dar stressed the need for continued coordination to facilitate beneficiaries and ensure the uninterrupted provision of services across the country. On September 16, the PM's Fuel Relief Scheme, which was already operational in Islamabad, was rolled out across the country at midnight. Three days later, DPM Dar directed authorities to bring all operational fuel stations "onto the system" to ensure the proper implementation of the scheme.