Officials say that the country already spends between Rs60 billion and Rs70 billion annually on fuel and maintenance of official vehicles, and the latest increase in petrol and diesel prices is likely to push those costs up by another 20 to 25 per cent.
The increase follows the government’s decision to raise petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre, a move that officials say will add further pressure on national and provincial exchequers.
Sources said the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have proposed reducing the use of official transport in order to curb rising expenses.
However, no formal steps have yet been taken by either federal or provincial authorities to implement the proposal.
Officials say governments may soon be forced to introduce cost-control measures to manage the growing burden of petroleum expenses.
According to official estimates, government fleets across Pakistan account for tens of thousands of vehicles, consuming significant amounts of fuel each year.
In Punjab, nearly 30,000 official vehicles are currently in use, costing around Rs20 billion annually, with daily fuel consumption estimated at about Rs50 million.
Federal government departments operate between 12,000 and 15,000 vehicles, with annual fuel expenses of roughly Rs9 billion, translating into an estimated Rs20 million per day.
Sources also noted that several officials in federal and provincial departments are entitled to two or even three official vehicles, while ministers in both federalh and provincial governments also use official vehicles and fuel allocations.
The Sindh government operates around 20,000 official vehicles, spending roughly Rs13 billion annually on fuel.
In Balochistan, about 8,000 government vehicles are in operation, with fuel expenses exceeding Rs4 billion annually.
Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has more than 12,500 official vehicles, costing the provincial exchequer about Rs7 billion each year, with daily fuel consumption estimated at around Rs20 million.
Officials warn that with fuel prices rising sharply, the cost of maintaining government transport fleets is set to climb further unless authorities adopt measures to reduce usage and improve efficiency.