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There is a very understandable instinct behind Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s new petrol-relief programme. When petrol approaches Rs400 per litre, the man riding a motorcycle to work, the delivery rider earning by the kilometre and the rickshaw driver feeding his family do not experience an oil shock as an abstract movement in Brent crude; they experience it every morning when the fuel nozzle goes into the tank. Providing them relief therefore sounds compassionate, politically sensible and, at first glance, economically defensible. The problem begins when we stop reading the headline and start following the money.
The government formally announced relief of Rs100 per litre for motorcycles, rickshaws, Qingqis and other two- and three-wheelers on up to 20 litres per month, while owners of cars up to 800cc are to receive the same Rs100-per-litre relief on up to 30 litres per month. The scheme was announced as Pakistan confronted another surge in petroleum prices associated with Middle Eastern tensions.
There is an important correction to some of the social-media discussion surrounding the programme, however. It should not yet simply be described as motorcycles being “exempted from Petroleum Development Levy.” The government’s official ECC announcement describes it as a targeted fuel-relief mechanism, not a blanket statutory abolition of PDL for motorcycles. On September 14, the Economic Coordination Committee approved a structure under which two- and three-wheelers receive Rs500 per week — five litres multiplied by Rs100 — while qualifying cars receive Rs1,000 for ten days. Relief is restricted to non-commercial users and one vehicle per owner, with the Ministry of IT & Telecom operating a digital Fuel Pass System intended to control eligibility and delivery.
That distinction matters. But it does not eliminate the economic question.
The Rs2,000 Question
For a qualifying motorcycle user consuming the entire allocation, the arithmetic is wonderfully simple:
| Measure | Motorcycle / 2–3 Wheeler |
|---|---|
| Maximum eligible petrol | 20 litres/month |
| Relief | Rs100/litre |
| Maximum monthly benefit | Rs2,000 |
| Weekly mechanism | Rs500 |
| Weekly eligible quantity | 5 litres |
For a small-car owner:
