PM Shehbaz orders cancellation of petrol pump licences over denial of fuel subsidies

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered authorities to revoke petrol pump licences if operators refuse subsidised fuel to people registered in the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Programme. The Express Tribune reported that he issued the instruction at a meeting in Islamabad reviewing the scheme, and called for beneficiaries to receive fuel without administrative barriers.

Officials said 15,519,282 people had registered by November 5, including 15.06 million motorcycle owners and 449,800 owners of vehicles up to 800cc. Of 63,153,685 subsidy tokens issued, 59,445,347 had been used, while Rs28.6 billion had been paid out by November 4, equal to 38% of the government’s Rs75 billion allocation. The order follows reports of consumers being turned away and complaints involving technical faults, expired tokens and registration errors.