Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, alluding to the recent regional situation and spiralling global petroleum prices, underlined the need for the introduction of environment-friendly electric vehicles (EVs) across the country, thus saving the country’s precious foreign reserves.

Addressing a ceremony for the provision of eco-smart EVs to the Islamabad Traffic Police, the prime minister said that such energy-saving initiatives should be emulated by all law enforcement agencies and provinces.

He observed that a total of 15 electric vehicles were provided by the interior ministry, which ran on batteries without using petrol and oil, while another batch of vehicles would be inducted soon.

Terming the initiative a significant one, the prime minister said such steps would cast positive impact on the country’s foreign reserves.

On the occasion, he also congratulated Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his team for taking this initiative.

Federal ministers, Islamabad police high-ups and relevant authorities were present during the ceremony.

Earlier, Islamabad Police Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi briefed the prime minister about the initiative.

Every vehicle staff will comprise a captain, a male responder, one responder and a driver who will don a special uniform. These vehicles will be available on key avenues of the capital to ensure smooth vehicular flow, it was informed.

Each vehicle, after a complete charge, can cover a distance of 350km to 400km. Fast charging requires 60 minutes to 90 minutes, whereas regular charging times vary from 6 to 8 hours. Compared with the vehicles running on petrol, per electric vehicle will save upto Rs0.55 million per month, it was informed.

The prime minister was further apprised that these electric vehicles will meet their expenditure incurred on their procurement within 13 to 14 months.