The government is taking practical steps to protect both the country’s economic interests and the people from the impact of global developments, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani said on Thursday.
“Global developments are putting pressure on Pakistan’s economy, but we are protecting both the country’s economic interests and the people,” Kayani said addressing the media during visits to fuel stations in Jehlum, Dina and Sohawa.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s fuel relief scheme was aimed at providing direct relief to the people and the scheme is gaining momentum.
"Motorcycle owners are receiving Rs 500 worth of free petrol every week under the relief scheme," he said.
Kayani said the government is striving to protect the people from economic shocks, while the PTI is making efforts to create difficulties for them.
Commenting on the PTI’s planned protest, Kayani said that the party is creating unrest and promoting confrontation in the country.
Chief Minister KPK is attacking the capital, Islamabad while Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is giving Fuel relief to the public, stated Kayani.
Political parties should pursue their cases through Parliament and the courts rather than confrontation with the state, he said.
Referring to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s approval of the Police Act 2026, Kayani said that the move was an attempt to turn the police into a “PTI Tiger Force”.
The changes to the police law would create further difficulties for the police force fighting militants in the province. Instead of fighting militants, the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is confronting those fighting terrorism, he added.
He said the hasty approval of the Police Act 2026 was evidence, in his view, that the PTI lacked political and public support.
He said that the approval of the police law was another example of the PTI involving state institutions in politics.
Earlier, Kayani reviewed arrangements for implementation of the fuel relief scheme and the provision of subsidised petrol to the public on the second consecutive day of his visits to petrol pumps and registration camps in Jhelum, Sohawa and Dina.
He also visited petrol pumps in rural areas and inspected the registration process at camps established by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Kayani helped citizens complete the registration process through 9771 and obtain tokens for subsidised petrol. After tokens were issued, he personally helped fill petrol in the motorcycles of several citizens.
Citizens thanked the minister for assisting them and appreciated the establishment of registration camps to facilitate the public.
The PML-N had established camps alongside petrol pumps to create awareness and assist citizens with registration, he said.
He said he had started visiting petrol pumps on September 19 and personally reviewed the provision of subsidised petrol in urban and rural areas of Jhelum, Sohawa and Dina on September 23 and 24.
During the visits, PML-N local leaders and workers accompanied the minister, along with Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Mir Reza Ozgen and other district administration and police officials.
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