Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Sunday announced a subsidy for registered motorcycle riders across the province following the federal government’s increase in petroleum prices.

 

Speaking at a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House, Afridi said that the provincial government will provide Rs2,200 to registered motorcyclists, with Rs1,100 to be released immediately and the remaining Rs1,100 at a later stage. He said that the subsidy was aimed at reducing the financial burden on low and middle-income households affected by the rise in fuel prices.

 

According to a statement, Afridi stated that the provincial government could not support policies that placed additional pressure on people and rejected the recent increase in petroleum prices. He said that the decision could affect around 100 million people living below the poverty line.

 

Afridi said that the provincial government would bear the additional operational cost of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit and confirmed that fares would not be increased.

 

He added that the Rs55 per litre increase in petrol prices placed a burden on the public and added that the provincial government rejected the decision.

 

Afridi also criticised what he described as inconsistent positions by ruling parties, saying some political actors had previously described a Rs12 increase in petrol prices as a “petrol bomb” but had now approved a larger increase.

 

The chief minister stated that the governments should reduce unnecessary expenditure instead of shifting the burden onto the public.

 

Referring to the energy situation, Afridi added that global oil prices influenced domestic pricing but raised concerns about the scale of the increase and the policy approach adopted by the federal government.

 

He mentioned that the petroleum levy had been increased from Rs85 to Rs105 per litre and that the federal government had collected Rs822 billion in petroleum levies during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. He said that the projections suggested the total could reach around Rs1.7 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.

 

Afridi stated that reducing the levy could have provided relief to consumers and described consultations between federal ministers and provincial governments as a positive step.

 

However, he warned that worsening global conditions could lead to shortages of petrol and diesel and said the KP government would submit written proposals to the federal government to address supply concerns.

 

“Our commitment is not to any government but to Pakistan itself, because Pakistan belongs to all of us,” he said.

 

Afridi said that the provincial government had introduced austerity measures, including a ban on foreign visits and the purchase of new official vehicles. He added that salaries of members of the KP Assembly had not been increased.

 

He also added that the government had not yet purchased a replacement helicopter after a crash during flood relief operations, stating that public welfare had been prioritised over administrative spending.

The chief minister said that a monitoring dashboard had been established to track petrol pumps across the province. Through the system, authorities could monitor fuel availability and detect hoarding or supply disruptions in real time.

 

Afridi remarked that the province was leading the country in developing fuel monitoring systems.