Islamabad: On the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, all public transport in Islamabad will be free of charge for the next 30 days, starting tomorrow. Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi announced this in a post on X today. He stated that the Ministry of Interior will bear the expenditure of 350 million rupees for this public relief initiative.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Punjab government has also announced a comprehensive relief package for the people of the province in view of the ongoing global economic crisis. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif made this announcement in Lahore today, stating that free public transport services will be provided across all cities of Punjab. Citizens will not need to purchase tickets while traveling on the Orange Line Train, Metro Bus Service, Speedo Bus, and Green Electric Buses. Additionally, a subsidy scheme has been approved for motorcyclists, offering every registered motorcycle owner a subsidy of one hundred rupees on twenty litres of fuel.

The Punjab government is also extending financial support to safeguard agriculture, ensure food security, and assist farmers. A subsidy of 100 rupees per litre of diesel per acre has been announced for cultivators to aid in these efforts.

In Sindh, a subsidy package worth fifty-five billion rupees has been announced for motorcycle users, small growers, and public transporters. Addressing a news conference in Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah revealed plans to provide two thousand rupees per month to registered motorcycle owners, with the amount being directly transferred to their accounts via an app developed by the excise department.

Furthermore, the Sindh Chief Minister announced a subsidy of fifteen hundred rupees per acre for the registered three hundred thirty-six thousand small growers with twenty acres of land. To prevent an increase in transport fares, a subsidy package for transporters has also been introduced, along with an additional support of forty thousand rupees for intra-city buses to accommodate higher fuel consumption.