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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil supply chain players appeared nervous as petrol stocks declined to a 14-day cover on Thursday, prompting the government to urgently address procedural issues and activate enforcement mechanisms to discourage hoarding for profiteering in the market.

The decline comes amid rising prices following renewed US-Iran hostilities.

Informed sources said the government may have to revert to the fuel conservation measures adopted over the past couple of months as it reviews the latest regional situation.

A session with the oil industry, urgently convened by the recently created National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) — a civil-military body on energy supplies — “holistically” reviewed the availability of petroleum products across the country. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema is the chairman, while Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal is the co-chairman of the NCMC’s executive committee.

Informed sources said petrol consumption had risen over the past three weeks following a substantial price cut.

In the first half of July, petrol consumption was almost 18-20 per cent higher year-on-year, while diesel demand was about 40pc higher than in July over the past five years. This was a clear indication of a reduction in smuggled inflows from Iran due to the narrower price gap.

The cancellation of a couple of Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO) planned import cargoes after they failed to secure clearance from the NCMC amid falling global prices ahead of the interim US-Iran peace agreement also contributed to this.

Subsequent tensions sent import premiums skyrocketing again. PSO’s two latest petrol cargoes attracted around $25 per barrel in premiums, compared to $12 about 10 days ago.

However, as of Thursday, petrol and diesel were estimated to be costlier by around Rs10-12 and Rs40-42 per litre, respectively, providing an incentive for dealers to seek greater supplies from oil marketing companies and for hoarders to profiteer.

While PSO remains the country’s fuel lifeline, smaller players are reluctant to burn their fingers, citing more than Rs66 billion in pending price differential claims against the government. Oil companies have also complained of challenges in customs clearance.

Diesel stocks now stand at a cover of around 21 days and local refining is keeping pace with requirements.

Petrol consumption currently stands at around 25,000 tonnes per day against stocks of 345,000 tonnes, while local refineries can supply no more than 9,000 tonnes per day. HSD stocks stand at around 465,000 tonnes against daily consumption of about 23,000 tonnes, with local refineries supplying around 16,000 tonnes per day.

It was against this background that the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) — an association of over three dozen refiners and OMCs — raised red flags by writing an urgent warning to the government about an ensuing supply chain challenge.

During the NCMC meeting, “the supply-side challenges highlighted by the representatives of the OCAC were discussed and addressed”, an official statement said.

The committee observed that the concerns raised by OCAC primarily stemmed from an abnormal increase in petroleum product sales during the first 15 days of July. An analysis presented by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) also indicated the possibility of hoarding in anticipation of a potential price increase, the statement added.

“The NCMC emphasised that Ogra’s enforcement mechanism should play a more proactive role, and urged provincial governments to ensure that there is no hoarding and that petroleum products remain readily available to the general public without any inconvenience,” the council said after the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik, representatives of oil marketing companies and refineries, as well as officials from the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), Member Customs FBR, OGRA and other relevant stakeholders.

“The committee reaffirmed that petroleum product stocks in the country are sufficient and directed all relevant stakeholders to maintain uninterrupted supply across the country,” the statement concluded. Informed sources said the customs authorities promised to remove challenges at their end immediately.

A day earlier, the OCAC had updated the government about the challenges and demanded the immediate disbursement of about Rs67bn in Price Differential Claims (PDCs) to ensure smooth supplies. It had complained that a portion of existing stocks were unavailable for sale due to bottlenecks in the customs clearance process, effectively reducing immediately saleable inventory.

“Under the prevailing circumstances, any further delays in customs clearance could materially impact product availability and increase the likelihood of localised shortages, especially in upcountry locations”, the OCAC had said.

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis residing abroad who hold an invalid, expired or cancelled National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) will no longer be allowed to board flights to Pakistan, official sources said on Wednesday.

According to official sources, the government has issued immediate directives to all zonal directors of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to convey the decision to every airline operating inbound flights to Pakistan.

A government official told Dawn that the practice of allowing travel on invalid NICOPs had been going on for a long time and that it had been decided to stop it with immediate effect.

“Airlines should be instructed to verify the validity of NICOPs prior to boarding and refuse carriage to any passenger presenting an invalid, expired or cancelled NICOP,” the official said.

He added that passengers travelling on a foreign passport with an expired or otherwise invalid NICOP would not be allowed to board flights to Pakistan unless they held a valid Pakistani visa.

The official clarified that the decision was not country-specific and would apply to travellers arriving from all countries.

Meanwhile, a senior FIA official said the law regarding valid travel documents was already in place and the latest directive was aimed at strict enforcement.

He said the decision had also been conveyed to all immigration check-posts to ensure uniformity.

The official added that the move would bring travel regulations in line with other state services where an expired CNIC or NICOP leads to suspension of banking, SIM, and property rights.

“The FIA has been tasked with monitoring compliance at airports to ensure airlines implement the verification requirement before boarding,” he said.

While the move for stricter enforcement has generally been welcomed, many believe that the government should ensure faster renewal services at Pakistani missions abroad.

“Many Pakistanis only realise their NICOP has expired when they’re at the airport,” said Muhammad Riaz Chaudhary, a Pakistani settled in Heidelberg, Germany.

“The government should provide an emergency extension or expedited renewal to avoid genuine hardship,” he observed.

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As Europe’s railways buckle under record heat, roads melt and power grids strain, countries are turning to an array of fixes for ageing infrastructure, from drones inspecting tracks and AI-powered sensors to a surprisingly simple tool: white paint.

At Norway’s Oslo airport on Wednesday, with temperatures set to hit 30 degrees Celsius, 10℃ above normal for the time of year, workers doused the tarmac with water to keep it cool.

It’s a marked shift in a country more used to coping with the cold that reflects how Europe is having to adapt to rising temperatures that are stoking wildfires, causing thousands of excess deaths and putting infrastructure under growing pressure.

“In Norway, the asphalt must withstand both extreme cold and fairly warm temperatures,” said Jrn Arvid Remark, operating engineer at Norwegian state-owned airport operator Avinor, adding the airport was testing a new heat-resistant asphalt.

The fire brigade sprays around 9,000 litres of water on key parts of the runway, which can get damaged at high temperatures as it softens under the weight of aircraft.

Europe’s roads and railways, many built decades ago, are increasingly struggling to cope.

Temperatures across Western Europe on Wednesday were 5.5℃ above the average for July 15, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.

“Our infrastructure is in no way prepared for the extreme weather events that we’re going to see,” said Chris Dodwell, co-head of sustainability centre at Impax Asset Management, adding heatwaves, once rare, were becoming regular events.

A 2025 report by leading central banks estimated that severe weather events, including heatwaves, droughts and floods, could cut euro zone GDP by as much as 4.7 per cent by 2030.

Higher temperatures mean more storms and floods

Europe’s railways have felt the impact acutely.

An EU report in April found that more than 70pc of rail managers were seeing growing disruption from extreme weather.

Between 2015 and 2024, weather-related interruptions amounted to the equivalent of one to three years of railway service across the region.

Heat can cause tracks to expand, and points, signals and power to fail.

However, extreme weather triggered by high temperatures can be even more disruptive.

“The most critical issue for rail networks is not the heat itself, but the thunderstorms, strong winds and landslides that often follow heatwaves,” said Oliviero Baccelli, a professor at Milan’s Bocconi University.

“Italy has already experienced significant disruptions to its railway network, particularly on Alpine routes, as a result of climate-related events.”

Northern European countries such as Britain face particular challenges because much of their rail infrastructure was designed for a narrower temperature range than networks in southern Europe.

John Lawrence, chair of the IET Railway Technical Network, said many rail components and systems were “in essence frozen in time”.

He added it would be a huge cost to heat-proof entire networks, though operators were exploring more stable sleeper designs and technologies such as AI and drones to “speed up the amount of track that can be inspected and monitored”.

Britain’s Network Rail has pledged to invest 2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) between 2024 and 2029 to help its network withstand increasingly extreme weather.

Not all solutions are hugely expensive, however, with some operators using traditional methods to reflect heat.

Stockholm’s transport authority spent about 100,000 Swedish crowns ($10,300) painting sections of metro track white in May and June to reduce the risk of track buckling.

Heatwaves ‘more intense, more frequent and longer-lasting’

Martin Wilson, engineering director at French rail equipment manufacturer Alstom, said Europe could learn lessons from transport systems such as the Riyadh Metro and Dubai tram, designed to operate in temperatures above 50℃.

“Today’s heatwaves are often more intense, more frequent and longer-lasting,” he said.

“Rising temperatures are increasingly challenging rail systems across Europe.”

Roads face similar pressures.

Engineers say northern European highways were built primarily to withstand damage from freeze-thaw cycles, while southern countries such as Spain use asphalt blends better suited to prolonged summer heat.

Finding the right balance is becoming harder as countries contend with both colder winters and hotter summers.

“They may have to adjust their approach,” said Jos Pablo Sez Villar of the Spanish Civil Engineers Association, referring to planners and road builders in northern Europe.

Paris transport operator RATP has created a heatwave contingency unit and is preparing a climate adaptation plan by the end of the year.

In Norway, officials say warmer, wetter weather is changing how new infrastructure is designed.

“Roads are going to be made more robust,” said Grethe Vikane, head of social development and climate at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

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US cases of an intestinal infection from the cyclospora parasite that causes diarrhoea, nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms have surged in recent days, with 34 states reporting infections, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Michigan, which reported its outbreak in May, recorded 3,309 cases on Tuesday.

What is it?

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection that can be contracted by consuming food, typically raw fruits and vegetables, or water contaminated with faeces, that transmit the cyclospora parasite, according to the CDC.

Symptoms can range from mild to severe, with children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems facing a higher risk of serious illness.

While cyclosporiasis is rarely life-threatening, untreated infections can persist for weeks and may lead to hospitalisation, particularly because of dehydration.

The US has had previous outbreaks of the disease. Michigan, for instance, said it typically records 40 to 50 cases annually.

What is the source?

Michigan health officials said current evidence points to lettuce or other salad greens as a potential source of the outbreak, although investigators have not completely ruled out other food items. They added that no specific type of produce, grower or supplier has been linked to the outbreak.

The CDC and other state health departments have not identified the source of the food contamination.

They and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are tracing back from where ill people reported eating or purchasing food to points along the supply chain that can go back to the farm where an ingredient was grown. They may use genetic sequencing.

Past outbreaks have occurred with fresh food, including bagged salad mixes and some herbs, Michigan officials said.

What can people do to protect themselves?

The parasite lives in contaminated food or water and is not commonly transmitted directly from person to person.

Health officials advised people to wash their hands with soap and water before and after preparing raw fruit and vegetables, to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly and to scrub firm fruits and vegetables with a clean brush.

Michigan advised consumers to buy whole heads of lettuce rather than bagged salad mixes and kits and throw away the outer leaves. It advised consumers to cook leafy greens and other items when possible.

Past outbreaks were linked to bagged salad mixes and kits, fresh cilantro and basil, raspberries, snow peas and green onions.

For people who have cyclosporiasis, the CDC recommends treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic commonly sold as Bactrim, taken twice daily for seven to 10 days. People living with HIV may require longer treatment, according to the agency.

Where is the outbreak?

Michigan, Ohio and New York have reported high numbers of cases. Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas have all reported 31 cases or more as of July 13, according to the CDC, which tallied confirmed cases at 1,645. It said 141 of those people had been hospitalised. The CDC figures lag because of delays in states reporting to the federal agency.

Case counts are expected to rise as the CDC receives more data, with delays between exposure and case confirmation potentially taking up to six weeks. Cases typically rise from May 1 through August 31, the CDC said.

Sick people ranged in age from 5 to 88 years, with a median age of 44, and 59 per cent were female.

What surveillance is being done?

The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, or FoodNet, is a collaboration among the CDC, the US Department of Agriculture, the FDA and 10 state health departments. Last July, it stopped tracking six of eight pathogens, including cyclospora, due to funding cuts.

FoodNet contacts physicians and clinical labs with the goal of monitoring trends and providing context for outbreaks, not of detecting outbreaks, said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University.

Without monitoring cyclospora, health officials will have a harder time fully understanding what proportion of cases may be missed due to underdiagnosis or underreporting, Kowalcyk said, adding that officials also may have a harder time preventing the next outbreak.

“It’s not just FoodNet that needs funding. The whole system needs funding,” she said.

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20 per cent transit fee to guard the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway as part of the conflict with Iran, saying on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.

US forces had carried out waves of attacks for the third night in a row after Tehran said it had closed the strait, prompting Trump on Monday to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose the fee.

But just a little under five hours before the fee had been due to come into effect at 2000 GMT, Trump said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.

“Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Iran reports new strikes, sirens in Kuwait

The governor’s office of Iran’s Qeshm Island, on the Strait of Hormuz, said it was hit by a US projectile at around 7pm on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported.

Meanwhile, a US projectile exploded near a water and electricity facility on Iran’s Kish Island, the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said. State media also reported an explosion heard in Andimeshk in southern Khuzestan province.

Iran had earlier hit back by attacking a US Army base in Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base, said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack.

Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain’s capital.

In the early evening, Kuwait said its armed forces were engaging with “hostile” aerial targets, and the state news agency said sirens had sounded in the country.

The worsening attacks had increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.

Shippers had opposed Hormuz fee plan

The move to impose US fees had drawn sharp criticism. The UN shipping agency said it opposed any fees for straits used in international navigation and that there was no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company, said it would be “fundamentally wrong”.

Trump said later on Tuesday that he did not like the concept of a fee for using the strait and said countries had called him to say they wanted to invest in the U.S. instead of being charged a fee.

It was not immediately clear what Gulf states had agreed to, if anything. Trump did not mention any commitments by them, saying only in his post: “Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.”

Oil prices rose about 2pc to a one-month high on Tuesday after the US reimposed the naval blockade on Iran and as the renewed attacks between Washington and Tehran heightened concerns over energy flows.

Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas traffic passed through the waterway daily. If the US were to have imposed a 20pc fee, it could have generated around $240 million a day.

Lebanon-Israel talks

Despite the attacks, regional analysts said the hostilities remained within controlled boundaries, for now, with both sides seeking leverage for an eventual peace deal, but that there was still a risk of fighting spinning out of control.

“I doubt the two sides will resume a full war, especially as Trump will suffer though there is also a distinct possibility that the Iranians will overplay their hand. That is true of Trump too, of course,” said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

The conflict has proved unpopular in the US, where gasoline prices have risen since the start of the war and congressional elections are looming in November.

Half of those surveyed in a Reuters poll said they believed the war had not been worth its costs.

The US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, and Iran attacked Israel and Gulf states that host US bases in a war that also reignited conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, killed thousands and displaced millions.

Lebanon and Israel resumed talks on Tuesday in Rome, with Beirut seeking progress towards securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon under a US-brokered deal.

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GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government on Monday presented a Rs20.478 billion interim budget for the first quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year, while urging the federal government to allocate Rs258.95 billion for the full fiscal year to address the region’s growing development and infrastructure needs.

The three-month budget was presented in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Mohammad Ali Akhtar during a session chaired by Speaker Imran Nadeem Shigri.

Presenting the interim budget, Mr Akhtar said the federal government had earmarked Rs158.54 billion for Gilgit-Baltistan in the current fiscal year, an amount he described as insufficient to meet the region’s pressing requirements. He explained that the interim budget had been prepared to ensure the continuity of government operations until the presentation of the full annual budget for 2026-27.

According to the budget proposals, Rs88bn has been allocated for non-development expenditures, while the government has set a target of Rs6.98 billion in non-tax revenue.

Rs258.95bn federal govt allocation sought to address region’s development, infrastructure

The interim budget earmarks Rs15.22bn for salaries and allowances and Rs1.38bn for essential administrative and operational expenses.

The government has also proposed allocating Rs15bn for the wheat subsidy programme, with an estimated Rs3bn expected to be generated through wheat sales.

Special allocations have been proposed for disaster recovery and public services, including Rs275.8 million under the Prime Minister’s grant for rehabilitation of flood-affected areas, Rs880m for disaster management and emergency response, Rs770m for the procurement of heavy machinery, and Rs450m for the acquisition of heavy drones.

Other proposed allocations include Rs300m to strengthen the Health Endowment Fund, Rs100m for the purchase of ambulances, Rs430m for urban development projects, Rs292m for local councils and municipal committees, and Rs138m for the Waste Management Company.

Mr Akhtar said the government expected an increase of Rs12.24bn in available resources during the new financial year. However, he stressed that Gilgit-Baltistan’s unique geographical conditions — including its vast mountainous terrain, scattered settlements, harsh climate and limited communication infrastructure — make development projects significantly more challenging and expensive than in other parts of the country.

He said the region’s existing financial resources were inadequate to address critical challenges in the power, health, road, bridge, water resources and climate change sectors.

The GB government, he said, had sought Rs258.95bn from the federal government for 2026-27, but had not received the required allocation.

Expressing hope for greater federal support, Mr Akhtar said the requested financial assistance was essential to resolve the long-standing issues faced by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Following the budget presentation, Speaker Imran Nadeem Shigri adjourned the assembly session until Tuesday, when members are scheduled to debate the budget proposals.

Earlier in the session, newly elected assembly members Mohammad Naseem, and Mohammad Dilpazeer also took oath.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2026

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KHYBER: Pakistani customs authorities on Monday issued gate passes to as many as 26 World Food Programme (WFP) containers carrying food and essential supplies at the Torkham border to cross into Afghanistan.

Since October 2025, the Torkham border — a key trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan — has been closed due to the “escalating security situation” along the border.

Customs clearing agents, who had earlier in the day submitted Goods Declaration (GD) documents to the customs authorities, told Dawn that the containers were issued gate passes for crossing into Afghanistan late in the evening, despite the fact that the gates had officially been closed for any cross-border movement.

The agents said that the containers were made to wait throughout the day as officials awaited a final “nod” from the higher authorities after the containers arrived at the Torkham import terminal early on Monday morning.

They said that the authorities had informed them that all cleared vehicles would be allowed to proceed to Afghanistan on Tuesday, as the necessary customs clearance procedures, including electronic scanning, had been completed.

The containers were loaded with food and essential supplies for Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance from the WFP, they added.

It is pertinent to mention here that a similar convoy of about 20 containers from the WFP was sent back to Karachi earlier this year after the Afghan Taliban authorities in Kabul refused to accept any assistance from the UN body.

The fate of the 26 containers that have currently arrived would be known early on Tuesday if the Taliban authorities permit them to enter their country.

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