Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has given provincial authorities a 24-hour ultimatum to issue revised notifications for transport fares and strictly enforce them, aiming to curb the surge in inflation following the recent hike in fuel prices.
These directives were issued by the minister while presiding over an online meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee today.
Mr. Iqbal stressed that the benefit of government relief should not be nullified by arbitrary fare hikes by transport operators.
Highlighting the potential impact of increased supply costs on food prices, the planning minister also ordered weekly monitoring of essential commodities.
In a related directive, the Ministry of Interior and provincial agencies were instructed to take immediate action to prevent the smuggling of urea fertilizer and ensure its availability for farmers.