Prime Minister Shehbaz chairs a meeting on austerity measures. PHOTO: SCREENSHOT
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the government was taking and would continue to take all possible measures to provide relief to the people in the current difficult situation.
The Prime Minister chaired a meeting during which officials briefed him on the progress of grant disbursement as well as national fuel reserves and consumption.
The prime minister said passenger buses would get a monthly subsidy of Rs 100,000, while minibuses and wagons would get Rs 40,000 to avoid an increase in fares. To curb rising prices of food and goods, trucks were given Rs 70,000, heavy goods vehicles Rs 80,000 and delivery vans Rs 35,000 per month.
“These amounts are disbursed through digital wallets to ensure transparency,” he added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz noted that the grant, initially scheduled for Monday, was released on Saturday following his special directives. Provincial governments had provided vehicle and fleet details to the federal government to facilitate the program.
Read: PM orders suspension of 25% toll tax increase amid rising fuel prices
He congratulated the Balochistan government for depositing its allotted share of the national package and thanked Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.
Date: January 5, 2026.
وزیرِ اعظم محمد شہباز نے خطے میں حالیہ کشیدگی کے دوران پیٹرولیم مصنوعات پر حکومت کی جانب سے سبسڈی کے نفاذ پر پیش رفت کے جائزہ اجلاسکی صدارت کی. اجلاس کو سبسڈی کی فراہمی پر پیش رفت سے آگاہ کرنے کے ساتھ ساتھ ملک میں ایندھن کے ذخائر اور کھپت پر بھی بریفنگ… pic.twitter.com/dUJBBSE7ZW
– Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) April 5, 2026
The Prime Minister urged other provinces to submit their contributions as soon as possible. “In the last three weeks, 129 billion rupees have been disbursed as public assistance. We cannot leave citizens alone in these difficult times,” he said.
The prime minister said an immediate cut of Rs 80 per liter in the petrol tax had been announced, along with a Rs 6 billion subsidy from Pakistan Railways to maintain train fares and a reduction in the quarterly toll increase by 25 per cent.
Learn more: PM announces Rs 80 cut in petroleum tax, lowering petrol price to Rs 378 per liter
Officials also said the country has sufficient fuel reserves to meet domestic needs.
The meeting included briefings from the Intelligence Bureau on the government’s austerity measures and was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Dr Musadik Malik, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahsan Iqbal, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, State Minister Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistants Talha Burki and Tariq Bajwa, the DG IB, and other senior officials.
