Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the implementation of fuel-saving and austerity measures amid the prevailing regional situation.

The meeting reviewed the impact of government decisions and measures related to fuel conservation and supply.

The prime minister said that due to timely steps taken by the government, there were adequate reserves of petroleum products to meet the country’s needs and that public relief had been given top priority.

“Relief was provided to the public wherever possible during the last three weeks,” the prime minister said.

He added that to shield people from rising oil prices, the federal government was providing a subsidy of about Rs125 billion by cutting various savings and development budgets.

Prime Minister Shehbaz appealed to citizens to support the government’s austerity measures by avoiding unnecessary travel and preferring teleconferencing in offices.

He also directed provincial governments to simplify the registration process for motorcycle and rickshaw owners so that digitised vehicle data could be prepared nationwide and owners could benefit from government relief programmes in the future.

Officials said a digital dashboard had been prepared to monitor the supply and demand of petroleum products as well as the entire supply chain, and arrangements for petrol imports for April had been completed.

The meeting was told that, unlike other countries, there were neither long queues nor mismanagement in fuel supply in Pakistan.

Participants were also briefed on a proposed fuel support programme for motorcycle and rickshaw drivers and an app developed for the initiative.