Sindh launches Rs100-200k fuel subsidy for fishermen

CNIC mandatory as govt introduces barcode-based registration

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has launched a fuel subsidy programme for owners of small fishing boats, under which fishermen will receive financial assistance of Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 through the Sindh Bank.

Provincial Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Muhammad Ali Malkani said on Thursday that no fisherman would be registered without a valid CNIC. He was chairing the third review meeting of the Provincial Fisheries Regulatory Task Force in Karachi.

The minister said the initiative aimed to provide all facilities to fishermen under a single-window system, adding that CNIC-based registration had been made mandatory to ensure that only genuine fishermen benefit from government support schemes.

He said the government was linking fishermen with NADRA and introducing a barcode-based online system for licensing, boat registration, jetty registration and other related services.

Malkani said inspections of jetties would also be conducted, and only those providing facilities to fishermen would be registered. He added that the reforms were aimed at improving transparency and streamlining the registration process.

He further said a Fisheries Regulatory Task Force had been formed on the directives of the government, under which civil and armed forces were jointly carrying out a one-window operation for registration of genuine fishermen.

The minister said security considerations were also a key priority, adding that measures were being taken to curb terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal arms smuggling in coastal areas, while ensuring protection of the country's maritime borders. The meeting was attended by Livestock and Fisheries Secretary Dr Kazim Hussain, Marine Fisheries DG Dr Asim Karim and others.