LAHORE: The Pakistani government has commenced the distribution of subsidies to operators of public and goods transport, as directed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. This financial support aims to prevent fare increases and curb rising food prices amid regional tensions affecting petroleum products.

According to Radio Pakistan, the announcement was made during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sharif in Lahore, where the progress of the government’s subsidy program was reviewed. The subsidies include one hundred thousand rupees per month for passenger buses, forty thousand rupees for minibuses and vans, seventy thousand rupees for trucks, eighty thousand rupees for large goods vehicles, and thirty-five thousand rupees for delivery vans. These subsidies are being disbursed through digital wallets to ensure transparency.

The Prime Minister praised the Government of Balochistan for depositing the allocated funds for the national package and urged other provinces to act swiftly. He detailed that a public relief package amounting to 129 billion rupees has been provided over the past three weeks, alongside a reduction in the petroleum levy by eighty rupees per liter, offering immediate relief to the public.

Additionally, Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan Railways is offering a subsidy worth six billion rupees to prevent fare increases for passenger and goods trains. The government has also withdrawn a proposed 25 percent quarterly increase in toll tax. The meeting was informed of adequate fuel reserves nationwide and included a report from the Intelligence Bureau on the implementation of government austerity measures.