Sindh Senior Minister and Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Tuesday that tensions between Iran and the US have led to an unprecedented increase in global petroleum prices, affecting people across Sindh and Pakistan.
In response, the Sindh government has taken several steps to provide relief. Addressing the Sindh Assembly, he said that around 6.5 million motorcycles are registered with the Excise Department in Sindh. The government has decided to provide a fuel subsidy to those who register their motorcycles in their own names. Under this scheme, motorcycle owners will receive a subsidy of Rs2,000 to help offset rising petrol costs.
He added that the Sindh government has also extended subsidies to the public and goods transport sectors to reduce transportation costs and ease the financial burden on the public. Memon further said that a major relief package for fishermen has been approved in a recent cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister of Sindh. He noted that rising diesel prices have severely affected fishermen, and financial assistance of up to Rs100,000 will be provided based on the boat size to support their livelihoods. He also said that the 5% SRP tax imposed on bike-riders has been reduced to 2% to provide additional financial relief to those associated with the sector.
