IMF Wants Pakistan's Fuel Relief Scheme Phased Out: What It Means for Your 9771 Tokens
The IMF wants Pakistan's Rs 75 billion fuel relief scheme phased out promptly. No end date is set. See what your 9771 tokens are worth and what comes next.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to "phase out the fuel support scheme promptly", which means the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 tokens that bike and small car owners collect through 9771 are living on borrowed time. No end date has been announced. The scheme was approved as a three month programme in September 2026, so on the government's own description it runs to about mid December, and the IMF wants nothing like it to follow unless it is small, time-bound and paid through existing welfare programmes.
We read the IMF's 7 October 2026 statement on the staff-level agreement and the Finance Division's press releases of 10 and 14 September 2026 on 19 October. The scheme's own portal, pmfuelrelief.pk, would not connect when we tried it the same day, so we could not check whether a closing notice has gone up. The practical question for about 7.6 million registered users is simple: how many more tokens are coming.
The IMF wants the scheme ended because it is expensive and poorly targeted
The IMF's statement says the fuel support scheme should be phased out promptly "given its high cost and broad targeting". It adds that any future fuel support, if oil prices spike again, should be limited, time-bound, targeted through existing social assistance programmes and fit inside the FY27 budget. That is a description of the Benazir Income Support Programme route, not of a vehicle-based token.
Pakistan agreed the fourth review of its $7 billion programme with IMF staff on 7 October, and the money, about $1.2 billion, is released only after the Executive Board votes. The full list of commitments is in our report on what the IMF asked of Pakistan on 7 October. The fuel scheme sits inside the fiscal commitments, next to the 2 per cent primary surplus the FY27 budget is built on.
The scheme pays Rs 500 a week for bikes and Rs 1,000 per ten days for small cars
The Economic Coordination Committee approved the Prime Minister's Fuel Relief Scheme on 10 September 2026. Two and three wheelers get Rs 500 a week, which the Finance Division describes as 5 litres at Rs 100 a litre. Cars up to 800cc get Rs 1,000 for ten days, based on 30 litres a month at Rs 100 a litre. The relief is for non-commercial users, one vehicle per owner.
| Scheme term | What the Finance Division approved |
|---|---|
| Approved by | ECC, 10 September 2026 |
| Two and three wheelers | Rs 500 a week, 5 litres at Rs 100 a litre |
| Cars up to 800cc | Rs 1,000 per ten days, 30 litres a month at Rs 100 a litre |
| Who qualifies | Non-commercial users, one vehicle per owner |
| Cost | Rs 75 billion technical supplementary grant |
| Duration | Described as a three month programme on 14 September |
| Delivery | Fuel Pass System run by the Ministry of IT and Telecom, via 9771 |
The registration steps, the per-token limits and the rule that an unused token expires are in our guide to petrol relief through 9771. By 29 September the government reported about 7.6 million registrations and 7.71 million tokens redeemed, as our report on the fuel relief scheme review recorded, with no word on an extension.
Three months from mid September points to mid December, but nobody has said so
The only duration on record is the Finance Minister's description of a "three-month fuel relief programme" on 14 September 2026. Tokens started in the second half of September. Three months from then lands in the middle of December 2026. That is our reading of the timeline, not an announced date, and the government could stop earlier or stretch it.
What has changed is the pressure. In Bangkok on 14 October the Finance Minister told the IMF's Deputy Managing Director that fuel subsidies would be "targeted, budget-neutral and time-bound". That is the IMF's language, and it does not describe a scheme that gives every bike owner the same Rs 500. Our reading is that the scheme ends on schedule, not early, and is not renewed in this form.
What a bike owner loses when the tokens stop
A token is worth Rs 500 against 5 litres, so the relief is Rs 100 a litre on those litres. Petrol was Rs 386.30 a litre on 17 October 2026, so a token holder paid about Rs 286.30 for each of those 5 litres. Over a month of four tokens the saving is about Rs 2,000 for a bike and about Rs 3,000 for a car on three tokens. All of that is our arithmetic from the scheme terms and the OGRA price.
When the tokens stop, the pump price is the price. The daily OGRA sheet, explained in our report on the 17 October petrol price, has been falling through October as the Gulf price eases, which softens the blow. Rs 100 a litre of relief is still far more than any daily move in the sheet.
Any replacement would come through BISP, not through your bike number
The IMF's words are "targeted through existing social assistance programmes". In Pakistan that means BISP, which pays the Kafalat stipend on a household poverty score, not on a vehicle number. The government is already moving its electricity subsidy the same way, as our report on the BISP-targeted electricity subsidy set out, with a January 2027 target.
So a bike owner who is not a BISP beneficiary should assume there is no second fuel scheme for him. A family on BISP may get fuel help folded into a stipend if oil spikes again, but no such decision exists. The idea of a targeted subsidy was first floated in July, as our report on the targeted fuel subsidy noted, and the September scheme went broader than that.
What to do with your tokens now
The scheme is still running on the last official word. Use what you are entitled to, keep records, and do not pay anyone who promises an "extension" or a "renewal" for a fee.
- Redeem each token inside its validity window. An unused token expires and is not carried forward.
- Keep the confirmation SMS for every token and every fill, in case a pump disputes a redemption.
- Check the official portal or the 9771 reply for a closing notice before you plan December fuel spending.
- Ignore messages asking for a fee or a card number to "renew" the relief. The scheme has never charged a fee.
- If you are a BISP family, keep your Kafalat registration current, since that is the channel any future help would use.
Common questions
Has the fuel relief scheme been cancelled?
No announcement says so. The IMF has asked for it to be phased out promptly, and the government described it as a three month programme in September. No end date has been published.
When does the three month fuel relief scheme end?
Tokens began in the second half of September 2026, so three months runs to about mid December. That is our arithmetic, not an official date.
Will there be a new fuel subsidy after this one?
The IMF says any future support must be limited, time-bound and paid through existing social assistance programmes. No new scheme has been announced.
How much is a fuel relief token worth?
Rs 500 against 5 litres for bikes and three wheelers, and Rs 1,000 per ten days for cars up to 800cc, which the Finance Division describes as Rs 100 a litre of relief.
Did the IMF approve the scheme?
The scheme was approved by Pakistan's ECC on 10 September 2026. The IMF's 7 October statement calls it high cost and broadly targeted and asks for it to be phased out.
Can I still register on 9771?
The last official word is that the scheme is running. Our guide to petrol relief through 9771 has the steps and the eligibility rules.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 19 October 2026. The IMF's wording on the fuel support scheme is from its 7 October 2026 statement, read on 19 October. The scheme's terms, the Rs 75 billion grant and the three month description are from the Finance Division's press releases of 10 and 14 September 2026 and the Bangkok releases of 14 October, read on the Finance Division press releases page the same day. The token value, the monthly saving and the mid December estimate are our own arithmetic. We could not reach pmfuelrelief.pk on 19 October, so we could not confirm whether any closing notice has been posted.
About the author
Global Affairs & Political Economy Writer
Muhammad Hatim is a book lover who started writing because he enjoys it. At Pakistan Era he writes about international relations, geopolitics and the global economy, with a particular interest in South Asia and the forces behind current events.
