Dawn
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16:08 Apr 03, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Coordinated by the Centre, the provincial governments will now be taking the lead in administering subsidised fuel quotas to motorcyclists, farmers and transporters, involving a fiscal impact of around Rs65-70 billion per month. On Thursday night, while announcing an unprecedented hike in the prices of petroleum products, the federal government had also announced targeted relief measures for motorcyclists, small farmers and transporters. To ensure national uniformity, the provincial chief ministers and their teams were in elaborate discussions on the nitty-gritty with the Centre over the past week. Based on that, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced Rs70,000, Rs80,000 and Rs100,000 per month to food transport vehicles, large trucks and public service buses, respectively. In addition, support of Rs1,500 per acre was also announced for small farmers, given the central priority to minimise food inflation. The announcements were based on elaborate datasets from the provincial governments and t...