Pakistan has introduced emergency measures in response to rising global fuel prices, shutting all schools for two weeks and ordering the public sector to operate on a four-day week.
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the measures, warning that the government needed to reduce fuel consumption and prepare for potential supply shocks given the situation in the Middle East.
In a televised address, Mr Sharif said schools across the country would close for two weeks. He also said that universities and other higher education institutions across the South Asian country will switch to online classes during the period to maintain academic activity while limiting travel.
“In the next two months, government departments will get a 50 per cent cut in fuel allowances,” Mr Sharif said, while public offices will open for only four days a week and half of government employees will be ordered to work remotely.
Banks are exempt from the new work arrangements.
Pakistan’s heavy reliance on imported fuel leaves the economy vulnerable whenever oil prices surge or supply routes are threatened. Pakistan, which shares a southwestern border with Iran, relies heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf.
On Friday last week, just a few days after Israel and the US launched strikes against Iran, fuel prices in Pakistan rose by roughly 20 per cent – a move that triggered long queues at petrol stations across the country as drivers rushed to fill their tanks.
The government will also ground 60 per cent of official vehicles for two months, while federal ministers will forgo salaries and parliamentarians will face a 25 per cent pay cut as part of the broader austerity measures announced by Mr Sharif.
The Dawn newspaper reported that the government has also imposed a ban on purchasing vehicles, furniture and air conditioners for government offices, restrictions on foreign travel by ministers and officials unless essential, and there is a directive for departments to hold meetings online while cancelling official dinners and iftar parties during Ramadan.
The move came after the government received sharp criticism from opposition leaders and the public after it raised petrol and diesel prices by as much as 55 Pakistani rupees.
Officials say the measures are designed to curb fuel consumption as global energy markets face volatility amid the Iran conflict.
During his address, Mr Sharif condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khameini but also criticised Iran’s retaliatory attacks on neighbours.
“These attacks have posed a great threat to the whole region,” he said.
“We consider the stability and security of these countries as the stability and security of our country,” he said.
Mr Sharif said: “If things keep progressing in this manner, then the (global fuel) prices will get out of hand.”
Pakistani warships have started escorting the country’s merchant vessels through the Middle East as the regional conflict disrupts oil tanker traffic.
On Monday, the country’s navy said an operation was launched to ensure the country’s energy supplies were not interrupted.
“Pakistan Navy has launched Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr to counter multidimensional threats to national shipping and maritime trade. The initiative has been undertaken to ensure the uninterrupted flow of national energy supplies and the security of Sea Lines of Communication,” a spokesperson for the Pakistan Navy said in a Facebook post.
Oil prices have fluctuated dramatically since the war began between the US and Israel and Iran, and briefly surged toward $120 a barrel before falling back on Tuesday after US president Donald Trump said that the war would end “very soon”.
However, his remarks were met with a strong response from the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who said on Tuesday that Iran would continue fighting as long as necessary.
Several countries have warned that continued attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping routes could trigger a broader global energy crisis.
Mr Trump has threatened Iran with “fire and fury” if it continues to disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
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