Zehra Batool
While filling stations in Paris see long queues and ambulance services in parts of the United States quietly ration trips to save on diesel, Pakistan finds itself managing a global energy shock with more composure than many wealthier nations.
The scale of this crisis is sobering everywhere. Since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, 2026, and attacks by Ansar Allah (the Houthis) disrupted shipping routes, global oil markets have been thrown into turmoil. Petrol in Pakistan has climbed from around Rs253 per litre at the start of 2026 to above Rs390 today. That is steep by any measure. But a wider look tells a different story: this is a world problem, not a Pakistan problem, and Pakistan is handling it with a discipline that deserves recognition. In the United States, gasoline prices have jumped by nearly 50 percent since the Iran war began, with diesel touching record highs in several states. Emergency services have felt this directly, with ambulances in some regions cutting non-critical trips and police patrols shrinking simply to manage fuel budgets. France has fared no better, with diesel prices at record levels and roughly one in ten petrol stations facing shortages, a situation worsened by fishermen blockading oil terminals in protest. Germany has had to announce emergency fuel tax cuts. Nepal’s supply minister resigned over its own gas crisis. The International Energy Agency reports that Gulf fuel reserves have fallen to less than half their level from earlier in the year, and Saudi Aramco has already notified European refineries that long-term contract supplies are being halted. Industry estimates put the global shortfall at roughly four million barrels of oil and diesel a day, driven largely by the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, a passage that carries more than a fifth of global oil and gas trade. This is the backdrop against which Pakistan’s response should be judged, and by that standard, the country is doing something right. Rather than resorting to broad, costly subsidies that strain the treasury while often benefiting those who need help least, the federal government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chose a more disciplined route. The Prime Minister’s Special Relief Scheme provides petrol nationwide at a discount of Rs100 per litre, aimed squarely at those who actually need it.Owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and chingchi can claim relief on up to 20 litres monthly, saving around Rs2,000. Small car owners with engines up to 800cc receive the same discount on up to 30 litres, worth roughly Rs3,000 a month. Vehicles registered anytime after January 1, 2006 qualify, ensuring the scheme reaches older vehicles typically owned by lower-income households rather than only the newest models.
The Prime Minister also directed that motorcycle and rickshaw owners buying less than five litres at a time receive a Rs500 discount through a weekly token, a small but telling adjustment showing the scheme is being actively refined based on ground realities. The mechanism itself is simple. Citizens register by sending “REG” to 9771 from a SIM matching their CNIC, then request a fuel token by texting “TOK” whenever they need to fill up, redeemable at any participating pump. It is straightforward, traceable, and far harder to misuse than a cash handout. Barely a week after rollout began in Islamabad before expanding nationwide, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, more than 24 million people are already benefiting, according to Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, a remarkable uptake for a scheme still in its early phase. What makes this response genuinely commendable is that it has not come at the cost of financial discipline. The Economic Coordination Committee approved Rs75 billion for the scheme’s first three months as a Technical Supplementary Grant rather than an open-ended commitment, and petrol stations are reimbursed through the State Bank within 24 hours, keeping station owners cooperative rather than resistant. Alongside this, the government revived austerity measures, cutting fuel allocations for official vehicles by half, banning new government vehicle purchases, restricting non-essential foreign travel, and pushing officials toward video conferencing. Existing energy conservation timings, requiring shops to close by 9pm and restaurants by 11pm, remain in force, with hospitals, pharmacies and fuel stations exempted.
These measures show a willingness to lead by example rather than place the entire burden on ordinary citizens. As of now, petrol sits at Rs392.05 per litre and diesel at Rs418.96, both down slightly from earlier in the week under the government’s fortnightly pricing mechanism, evidence that the system responds in both directions rather than only upward. Officials have also flagged $5 to 6 billion in expected refinery investment, aimed at reducing Pakistan’s structural exposure to global energy shocks over the long run, given that the country imports nearly 90 percent of its energy needs. The IEA expects global diesel shortages to persist through winter, so this crisis is far from over, for Pakistan or anyone else. But while wealthier nations scramble with emergency tax cuts and reserve releases, Pakistan has moved early, targeted relief toward those who need it most, and paired it with fiscal restraint. That combination looks less like a country struggling and more
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