PM wants facilitation desks to help people buy subsidised fuel

Petroleum dealers said they still lacked clarity on how they would be compensated under the Prime Minister's Fuel Relief Scheme, even as members of the public queued at pumps late on Wednesday night. According to Dawn, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association warned that no fuel station could absorb a loss of Rs100 per litre without knowing the payment route. Its chairman also said officials from different ministries and the State Bank had given conflicting accounts of who would pay, and dealers were not consulted before the launch.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the creation of facilitation desks staffed by administration officials, volunteers and petrol pump employees to help citizens claim subsidised fuel. Registration requires just four details: the applicant's CNIC, the vehicle's plate number, the province where it is registered and the registration date. The scheme went nationwide at midnight on Wednesday after a pilot in Islamabad, and an official said registrations were gradually increasing.

Ogra notified higher rates on Wednesday night, lifting high-speed diesel by Rs5.62 per litre to Rs421.45 and petrol by Rs6.88 per litre to Rs391.22. The regulator linked the increases to elevated international crude and product prices. Dawn also relayed a Reuters report that Brent futures fell $2.92 to $105.83 a barrel the same night, after reports of extra Saudi crude cargoes via Oman.