Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday told AFP that Pakistan had so far withstood the shock from skyrocketing energy prices due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, but that attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were “worrying” for the country’s longer-term economic outlook.
In an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Aurangzeb said the country had procured enough energy supplies to last through November, and was now planning for the winter months, when household needs typically spike.
“The first-order impact has been negotiated well by Pakistan,” he said.
“We’ve had no shortage, no queues at the gas stations, and no law and order situation, which at times we have seen in some of the countries.”
He added that unless the government saw “an absolute dire need”, it would not be procuring spot cargoes on the LNG front, which tend to be far more expensive than previously contracted shipments.
Since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in February, global energy prices have surged as Tehran’s retaliatory action has targeted Washington’s Gulf allies and curtailed oil and gas supplies.
With Yemen’s civil war flaring back to life as well, the Houthis there have repeatedly attacked Saudi infrastructure, including energy facilities and airports, in recent days.
Aurangzeb expressed alarm at the escalation, saying damage to such sites would delay a return to economic normalcy.
“What is now [the] worrying part of it is when the energy infrastructure starts getting hit,” he said.
“I, to be very honest, I don’t know where that would go. But one thing is very clear: that if the infrastructure continues to get hit, the return to normalcy, even if things subside, will take longer.”
By AFP
