In Pakistan, petrol stations refused to accept fuel subsidy app — Dawn
In Pakistan, on the first day of the nationwide launch of the fuel subsidy programme, some petrol stations refused to accept a digital application for providing petrol at a discount of 100 Pakistani rupees per litre. As Dawn reports, petrol station representatives explained this by the lack of a system needed to serve registered programme participants.
Following several complaints, Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima visited petrol stations in Rawalpindi to check whether registered consumers could receive subsidised fuel. The day before, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association said that its members had no information about the subsidy payment mechanism and feared difficulties with reimbursement.
Compensation for dealers
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik held a meeting with representatives of the dealers' association, led by Malik Khuda Bakhsh. The State Bank of Pakistan informed participants about the reimbursement mechanism and assured them that applications submitted under the programme would be processed within 48 hours.
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The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications introduced a digital system for implementing the programme. A special dispatch centre was also established for petrol stations and can be contacted at 9772. Funding for the programme was allocated for three months, while 25 billion Pakistani rupees for the first month have already been transferred to the State Bank of Pakistan for timely reimbursement to dealers.
Warning from oil companies
Separately, the Oil Companies Advisory Council of Pakistan (OCAC), in a letter to the head of regulator Ogra, warned of possible disruptions in the oil supply chain if claims for compensation of the price difference are not settled. According to the committee, claims worth 66.7 billion rupees had remained unpaid since March 2026 — an amount equivalent to five imported petrol cargoes.
OCAC said that due to a liquidity shortage, oil companies can no longer finance uninterrupted fuel supplies. The committee urged Ogra to urgently complete the verification and pay confirmed and approved compensation claims. It also demanded the formal introduction of an agreed increase in the margin for oil marketing companies of 1.22 rupees per litre.
