PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Dawn devotes an entire editorial to the oil shock: 'Another oil shock.' The paper dissects the mechanics of a country that imports 85% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz and no longer has the fiscal margins to absorb the increase. The government had been absorbing the shock for weeks, betting on a quick resolution -- a gamble that cost the treasury 129 billion rupees. Then the breaking point: fuel prices were raised 42.7% overnight to 458 rupees per liter, triggering protests and endless queues at stations. PM Shehbaz Sharif went on television at midnight to announce an 80-rupee levy cut, bringing the price to 378 rupees. All cabinet members renounce their salaries for six months. Sindh and Punjab provinces deploy targeted relief. Public transport in Islamabad and Punjab is free for 30 days. Dawn doesn't hide the coming devastation: 'A fresh wave of inflation is inevitable. Transporters have already raised fares, businesses are passing on higher input costs.' The editorial explicitly links the crisis to Pakistan's structural fragility -- 'years of weak tax revenue mobilization' -- that makes every external shock unbearable.