PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced a petrol subsidy package for up to 1.6 million motorcycle users in the province, saying the move is aimed at easing the burden on citizens after the federal government’s recent fuel price hike.
Addressing a press conference alongside Finance Minister Muzammil Aslam and Special Assistant on Information Shafiullah Jan, the provincial chief executive strongly criticised the recent increase in petroleum prices by the federal government, terming the Rs55 per litre hike a “petrol atom bomb” on the public.
He announced that the provincial government would provide a subsidy to motorcycle users in the province to offset the impact of the increase in petrol prices.
According to him, there are currently between 1.4 million and 1.6 million registered motorcycles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Under the relief package, each eligible motorcyclist would receive Rs2,200 in two instalments of Rs1,100 each to compensate for the Rs55 per litre increase in petrol prices.
However, when asked about the mechanism for distributing the subsidy among registered motorcycle owners, the chief minister did not outline a clear implementation plan or verification process. Officials also did not specify the platform through which the payments would be made or the timeline for disbursement.
He also announced that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fares would not be increased and a relief package for farmers would soon be introduced.
CM Afridi said the provincial government would take steps to shield citizens from the impact of rising fuel prices which, he said, would directly affect poor households, farmers and transport users.
The chief minister also said Pakistan was facing difficult circumstances due to regional tensions and internal economic challenges, as he referred to the ongoing situation involving Iran and Israel, as well as tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, he said the immediate concern was the increase in petroleum prices by the federal government.
“When the price used to increase by Rs12 during the PTI government, the same parties called it a petrol bomb. Today they have increased it by Rs55 per litre, which is nothing short of a petrol atom bomb on the public,” he added.
“To protect the public from the direct impact of inflation, the provincial government will not increase BRT fares and will bear the additional cost,” the CM said.
Marking International Women’s Day, he also announced that pink buses would be introduced in the BRT system for women commuters. He said the provincial government had planned to add 140 buses to the BRT fleet, of which 52 buses were ready, while 10 buses would be dedicated as pink buses for women.
He said the provincial government was preparing a special relief package for farmers and would soon announce support measures. The chief minister said the provincial government was also accelerating its solarisation programme under which 130,000 households would be provided with solar systems.
For his part, Aslam said the federal government had increased the petroleum development levy on petrol from around Rs86 per litre to Rs105 per litre. He said the government had already collected Rs822 billion in petroleum levy during the first seven months of the current fiscal year and could collect around Rs1.7 trillion by the end of the year.
