ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday appreciated the collective efforts of the federal and provincial governments and relevant institutions as the number of direct beneficiaries of the government’s fuel subsidy scheme crossed 10 million, announcing a national award for the Information and Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja.
Hosting a high tea to recognize ministers and government officials for their efforts in executing the landmark scheme and ensuring its transparent outreach, the prime minister said the government would also honor others with shields to acknowledge their dedication and sustained hard work.
He said the scheme had faced several challenges and concerns at the planning stage, but coordinated efforts by all stakeholders had helped it achieve significant progress.
The prime minister resolved that the programme would continue as the government had allocated Rs75 billion for the initiative.
The prime minister expressed gratitude to the provincial governments and their chief ministers for extending support to the initiative, and said its success would not have been possible without their cooperation.
He said the number of people directly benefiting from the scheme had crossed 10 million, including motorcyclists, rickshaw and Qingqi operators, and owners of cars up to 800cc.
The initiative was providing eligible beneficiaries with fuel subsidy and that the benefits also extended indirectly to their families.
The prime minister estimated that, considering an average household size of five, around 50 million people were benefiting directly or indirectly from the scheme.
He recalled that an earlier initiative launched in February had recorded the redemption of around 1.3 million fuel subsidy tokens at its peak. He said the concerted efforts of the federal and provincial governments had enabled the current scheme to expand its reach considerably.
The prime minister particularly acknowledged the contributions of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, relevant federal secretaries and officials, as well as provincial chief secretaries and other institutions involved in the implementation process.
Describing the achievement as an example of effective teamwork, he praised the officials for their unwavering commitment, dedication and tireless efforts.
He also appreciated the contributions of the Petroleum Division, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), State Bank of Pakistan, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), telecommunications operators and other relevant organisations.
The prime minister announced that Shaza Fatima Khawaja would receive a national award in March in recognition of her role, adding that other contributors would also be presented with shields.
Sharing the statistics of the scheme, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that more than 10.8 million citizens had registered for the scheme, while approximately 27 million tokens had been issued. Of these, around 19.4 million tokens had been redeemed by citizens to obtain fuel at subsidised rates. Out of this figure approximately 9.2 million citizens had used tokens more than once, while nearly 96 per cent benefeciaries were of motorcyclists.