Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets delegations of the US Business Council for International Understanding and US-Pakistan Business Council in New York on Friday. SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday appreciated the collective efforts of the federal and provincial governments and relevant institutions as the number of direct beneficiaries of the government’s fuel subsidy scheme crossed 10 million, announcing a national award for Information and Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja.
Hosting a high tea to recognise ministers and government officials for their efforts in executing the landmark scheme and ensuring its transparent outreach, the prime minister said the government would also honour others with shields to acknowledge their dedication and sustained hard work.
He said the scheme had faced several challenges and concerns at the planning stage, but coordinated efforts by all stakeholders had helped it achieve significant progress.
The prime minister resolved that the programme would continue as the government had allocated Rs75 billion for the initiative.
The prime minister expressed gratitude to the provincial governments and their chief ministers for extending support to the initiative, and said its success would not have been possible without their cooperation.
He said the number of people directly benefiting from the scheme had crossed 10 million, including motorcyclists, rickshaw and Qingqi operators, and owners of cars up to 800cc.
The initiative was providing eligible beneficiaries with fuel subsidy and that the benefits also extended indirectly to their families.
The prime minister estimated that, considering an average household size of five, around 50 million people were benefiting directly or indirectly from the scheme.
Apna Ghar scheme
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was informed on Friday that loans worth Rs426 billion had so far been approved under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme, of which Rs76 billion had been disbursed against a financing target of Rs700 billion set under the programme to support the construction and provision of 125,000 housing units.
The prime minister, while chairing a meeting with a delegation of presidents and chief executive officers of various commercial banks, emphasised the need to reduce the gap between loan approvals and actual disbursements, stating that citizens would benefit from the programme only when the approved funds reached them in a timely manner.
He was told that consultations were underway on a framework to facilitate developers’ access to financing.
Regarding the SME sector, it was informed in the meeting that loans totalling Rs1,137 billion had been provided to approximately 350,862 business owners.
The meeting was further informed that target of the volume of SME lending was being increased to Rs1,500 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 565,000 by June 2027.
The meeting was further informed that the total volume of agricultural loans had reached Rs1,352 billion by the end of September 2026, benefiting 3,455,313 individuals.
The government aims to increase agricultural lending to Rs1,500 billion and expand the number of beneficiary farmers to 4.5 million by June 2027.
During the meeting, PM Shehbaz met the heads of the country’s ten leading commercial banks and thanked the banking sector for its support.
