PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Dawn devotes an entire editorial to the oil shock: 'Another oil shock.' The newspaper dissects the mechanics of a country that imports 85% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz and no longer has budgetary margins to absorb the increase. The government had absorbed the shock for weeks, betting on a rapid resolution of the conflict—a bet that cost 129 billion rupees to the Treasury. Then the rupture: the oil price was increased by 42.7% overnight to 458 rupees per liter, triggering protests and endless lines at gas stations. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went on television at midnight to announce a reduction of 80 rupees, bringing the price to 378 rupees. All cabinet members renounce their salaries for six months. The provinces of Sindh and Punjab deploy targeted aid. Public transportation in Islamabad and Punjab is free for 30 days. Dawn does not hide the scale of the disaster to come: 'A new wave of inflation is inevitable. Transportation companies have already raised their rates, businesses are passing on costs.' The editorial explicitly links the crisis to Pakistan's structural fragility—'years of weak fiscal mobilization'—that makes any external shock unbearable.