Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the country’s petroleum reserves are sufficient enough to meet national demand, while calling on citizens to limit non-essential travel and shift to teleconferencing at workplaces to conserve fuel, while chairing a meeting on the implementation of fuel conservation and austerity measures in the context of the ongoing (United states) US-Israel war on Iran.
The prime minister said that fuel stocks remained stable “due to timely government decisions” and stressed continued monitoring of the supply chain.
The statement comes as global oil markets face pressure following the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted supply routes, including concerns linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The situation has contributed to higher international fuel prices, increasing strain on countries reliant on imports.
Officials noted that the government had introduced a set of austerity measures in recent weeks. These include cuts in development spending, curbs on non-essential expenditures and steps aimed at managing energy consumption. Petroleum prices were also raised earlier this month, though the government absorbed part of the increase.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the premier said that public relief remained a priority and added that support measures had been extended over the past three weeks. He said that Rs125 billion had been arranged through savings and reductions in development allocations to limit further increases in fuel prices.
The government is also working on a targeted subsidy mechanism for low-income groups, including motorcycle riders and rickshaw drivers. The prime minister directed provincial authorities to assist owners in registering their vehicles in their own names to improve documentation and allow access to future relief programmes.
He further instructed officials to strengthen coordination with chief secretaries of all provinces, as well as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to ensure uniform implementation of conservation measures.
During the meeting, officials said that fuel demand and supply were being tracked through a digital dashboard, with the supply chain under continuous observation. They added that import arrangements for April had been finalised to maintain availability.
A briefing was also given on a proposed mobile application-based fuel support system for two- and three-wheeler users, aimed at digitising subsidy distribution and improving transparency.