ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy has initiated a new maritime security operation to safeguard the country’s critical energy imports and commercial shipping amid escalating disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the military said Monday as the widening US-Israeli conflict with Iran sent global oil prices surging more than 25 percent.
Economy
SBP holds policy rate at 10.5 percent as Middle East war triggers fuel shock, inflation risks
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 10.5% on Monday, its second Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 2026, as the outbreak of war in the Middle East sent global energy prices surging and clouded the inflation outlook for the import-dependent economy.
Oil rally hammers Pakistan stocks in second-biggest drop ever
KARACHI: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index suffered its second-largest single-day drop on record on Monday, plunging 11,015.96 points, or 6.99%, as a surge in global oil prices fueled by the intensifying US-Israeli conflict with Iran hammered investor sentiment and amplified worries over the country’s fragile, import-dependent economy.
Pakistan fuel stocks adequate despite Hormuz disruptions – ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s petroleum-product inventories remain at comfortable levels and supply chains are operating without interruption, the Finance Ministry said Monday, even as the escalating conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz and sent global oil prices to their highest since mid-2022.
Pakistan to hold 5G spectrum auction on Tuesday, targeting launch in five cities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will auction 5G spectrum on Tuesday as the government moves to address chronic connectivity bottlenecks and roll out next-generation mobile services in the country’s five largest cities, officials said on Monday.
Pakistan’s record fuel price hike hands windfall profits to oil companies, ex-finance minister says
KARACHI: Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has criticized the PML-N-led government’s sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices, arguing it has primarily benefited oil companies with windfall profits.
Pakistan lines up three fuel cargoes, seeks IMF relief as Middle East conflict pushes oil import bill
KARACHI: Pakistan is racing to secure three petroleum cargoes due by Monday while scrambling for alternative supplies from Gulf allies and preparing to ask the International Monetary Fund for relief on the petroleum levy, as the escalating Israel-Iran conflict drives crude prices higher and threatens the country’s energy imports through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan to roll out austerity plan as Sharif battles fuel crisis from US-Israel attack on Iran
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will announce an austerity plan on Monday as the country confronts a global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel-Iran war, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Pakistan Railways lifts fares as diesel costs surge 20 percent after record fuel hike tied to Iran conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is increasing ticket prices across passenger classes and freight services by as much as 20 percent starting March 9, passing on part of the pain from the government’s largest-ever fuel-price increase triggered by the spillover of fighting in the Middle East.
PM Sharif directs provincial fuel conservation push after record Rs55 price hike
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the finance and petroleum ministers to coordinate with provincial governments on strategies to conserve petroleum products and guarantee uninterrupted supplies, a day after the country imposed its biggest-ever one-week fuel price increase.