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• Targeted subsidy for two-, three-wheelers on the anvil
• Jet fuel, kerosene prices rise quietly, but dramatically
• Rising jet fuel costs push up domestic, international fares by 30-40pc
• Passenger volumes on Gulf routes drop; Europe-bound travellers face limited routes, exorbitant prices
• Exporters sound alarm over rising air cargo rates

ISLAMABAD: Amid a sharp rise in jet fuel and kerosene prices, the government is considering unfreezing prices of other petroleum products to reflect global trends, while introducing targeted subsidies for two- and three-wheelers.

While petrol and high-speed diesel prices have been kept unchanged in recent weeks, the rates of jet fuel (JP-1) and kerosene have been increased without formal announcement.

Official rates seen by Dawn suggest JP-1 prices were raised by Rs84 per litre, or 21.65 per cent, to Rs472 from Rs388 per litre with effect from March 21. Since March 1, the price has surged by nearly 150pc from Rs190 per litre.

Similarly, kerosene prices increased by Rs71 per litre, or about 20pc, to Rs429 per litre from Rs358 per litre within a week. Since early March, kerosene prices have risen by 127pc, reflecting global energy market volatility following the US-Israel war on Iran.

On the other hand, the government froze petrol and diesel prices after an initial increase of Rs55 per litre each, allocating around Rs69 billion in subsidies to offset subsequent price revisions.

While the government has protected its petroleum levy targets on both products, it has diverted funds from development projects and emergency funds for natural disasters to maintain prices during Ramazan.

Officials said the government is currently absorbing about Rs175 per litre in diesel costs and around Rs75 per litre in petrol.

Officials said the freeze could not be sustained for long while the review of two IMF programmes had been held in abeyance for more than two weeks now.

“You cannot postpone inflation artificially for long; the more you delay price adjustments, the greater pain you build for the future,” an official said.

It was in this background that the government said it is “actively evaluating price divergence between international and domestic markets to support balanced and timely policy calibration”.

The statement followed a meeting of a special cabinet committee, formed by the prime minister to monitor petroleum prices and review the energy supply situation amid global volatility.

The committee also reviewed a proposal for targeted fuel subsidies for two- and three-wheelers instead of holding back general oil price adjustments.

Officials said petroleum inventories remain at comfortable levels, supported by secured imports and steady refinery output, with supply chains functioning smoothly across the country.

Cargo inflows are continuing as scheduled, with March and April fuel shipments largely secured and additional imports planned to strengthen reserves. Refineries were operating at regular production levels, with efforts underway to maintain optimal throughput and ensure efficient processing of incoming crude.

The finance minister, who chaired the meeting, directed authorities to ensure close monitoring of international markets, stock levels and supply chains.

A detailed review of national stocks and international energy market conditions was presented, highlighting notable movements in global benchmarks. The committee assessed emerging global price signals and their transmission implications, and placed particular emphasis on operational readiness across the domestic energy supply chain.

Airfares under pressure

Rising jet fuel prices are expected to further increase airfares on both domestic and international routes, with airlines already passing on increased costs to passengers.

Aviation experts said fuel, which accounts for 30-40pc of airline operating expenses, has become significantly more expensive, forcing airlines to raise fares by 20-30pc.

“Domestic ticket prices have increased by Rs10,000 to Rs15,000, while international fares have gone up by Rs30,000 to Rs40,000,” an aviation official told Dawn, adding that further increases are likely if global oil prices continue to rise.

Air travel to Europe has been particularly affected due to restricted airspace and limited routes through the Gulf region.

The owner of a travel agency told Dawn that due to the air traffic chaos over the Gulf countries, people going to Europe via Turkiye had to pay several hundred thousand more per ticket during the last couple of weeks.

“Last week, a Lahore to Denmark ticket via Dubai, which was previously available for Rs400,000, was selling for Rs1 million via Turkey last week because of the impact of the war,” he said.

Experts also warn that flying schools and training centres are also facing mounting costs. “How can Pakistani airlines avoid passing on additional costs to passengers for long?” an aviation expert said. “The training cost of pilots has significantly increased due to the surge in jet fuel prices”.

Since the start of the Middle East war, around 325 flights of Pakistani airlines — including about 200 operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) — have been cancelled, according to a spokesperson for the national flag carrier.

PIA continues to operate flights to Fujairah and Al-Ain, while services to Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai and Bahrain remain suspended. Flights to Saudi Arabia are operating as scheduled.

The spokesperson said base airfares had not been increased, but fuel surcharges ranging from $10 to $100 had been introduced.

Regarding the impact on volume of passengers, he said the numbers coming from Saudi Arabia and UAE were quite high, while passenger traffic for the Gulf region from Pakistan had declined.

Flight operations to Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain are already suspended, but no significant impact has been seen on traffic to Europe, even though these passengers have to pay higher costs due to longer routes that avoid troubled airspace.

Meanwhile, exporters have raised concerns over rising air cargo costs. The Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association said ground handling companies have imposed an additional charge of Rs50 per kilogram on shipments, warning that exports could be disrupted.

“This additional burden will cause financial losses to exporters,” the association said, adding that fruit and vegetable exports via air routes have already been affected.

Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi and Zulqernain Tahir in Lahore also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2026

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ISLAMABAD: A group of clerics from Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday appealed to the authorities on both sides to extend the pause in hostilities — which was announced for Eidul Fitr — to Eidul Azha.

In Pakistan, the announcement was made by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on March 18, three days before Eidul Fitr.

“In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eidul Fitr, upon its own initiative as well as on the request from the brotherly Islamic countries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye, the government of Pakistan has decided to announce a temporary pause amidst ongoing Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan,” Tarar had posted on X.

The minister said the pause would be applicable from midnight March 18-19 to midnight March 23-24.

Pakistan had launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on the night of Feb 26 following cross-border firing by the Afghan Taliban.

Eleven Pakistani and as many Afghanclerics signed a joint statement released on Tuesday night.

The statement says: “With the joint efforts and cooperation of the esteemed public and political scholars and respected tribal leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, we are making a sincere, serious and conciliatory move towards a sustainable and dignified solution to the conflict between our two countries.”

In the statement, the clerics from the two sides urged Pakistani authorities and the Afghan Taliban to extend the pause in fighting till Eidul Azha so that people could perform Haj in a “peaceful atmosphere”.

The statement said the “peace movement” would not be restricted to the appeal for an extension in the pause in fighting, but as part of this initiative, all possible “diplomatic and social efforts” would be made for a “fair and acceptable” resolution to longstanding issues between Islamabad and Kabul.

The clerics said their efforts were aimed at finding a solution agreeable to both sides and one that could lay the foundation of lasting stability and harmony in the region.

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On the 25th day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the conflict’s underlying dynamics pointed to a continued widening of scope, with President Donald Trump’s five-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure offering only limited respite and doing little to alter the broader trajectory.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes continued against Iranian energy and military targets, including gas management facilities in Isfahan, pipeline-linked infrastructure in Khorramshahr, and military sites. Additionally, US and Israeli strikes were reported in Tehran and other urban areas, which indicates a sustained pressure by the US-Israel alliance on Iran’s both strategic and symbolic nodes.

Iran responded with a calibrated but geographically expanding pattern of retaliation. As missile and drone strikes targeted US positions across the Gulf, including installations linked to air and naval operations, fire continued to be directed toward Israeli targets. A notable development was the strike on Kuwait’s power transmission network, which caused widespread blackouts.

Despite these tactical moves by both sides, the military balance, however, remained one of managed escalation.

On the ground, fire rates from Iran have moderated, but the available launch capacity has largely remained intact because of a deliberate conservation of assets. On the other side, the scale of US and Israeli targeting has expanded, with claims of thousands of strikes since the start of the campaign and significant degradation of Iranian naval capabilities.

In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes on infrastructure in the south, including bridges and supply routes, continued, while Hezbollah maintained pressure through rocket fire and tactical denial of Israeli ground movement. That front too has stabilised into an attritional pattern, with neither side achieving decisive gains.

In Iraq, US and allied forces completed the evacuation of a key installation in Baghdad following a temporary ceasefire with local armed groups.

Shifting posture of US forces

At the operational level, the US forces’ posture is undergoing a visible transition. The accelerated deployment of Marine expeditionary units, sustained strategic airlift into regional bases, and reports that airborne and special operations forces are being positioned point to preparations for a potential next phase of escalation.

Reported options under consideration by the US-Israel alliance include limited ground or littoral operations aimed at securing maritime routes, or targeting Iranian coastal infrastructure. Such moves, however, carry a high risk of triggering a broader escalation, especially because they would involve nodes such as Kharg Island or other positions linked to Hormuz control.

Configuration of power in Iran

Inside Iran, the internal configuration of power is shifting further toward the security establishment. The consolidation of authority within the Revolutionary Guards, reinforced by key appointments in the national security structure, especially the naming of former Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Bagher Zolghadr as Ali Larijani’s successor at Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reinforces the impression that a tightening of decision-making is underway at a time of external pressure.

Parallel to this, the public negotiating posture has hardened, with Tehran rejecting claims of engagement and reiterating demands that any dialogue should include security guarantees, sanctions relief, reparations and recognition of its role in regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz and its right to enrichment.

Hormuz — the central lever

The Strait itself has continued to be the central lever in the conflict. While not formally closed, it is effectively constrained by a combination of selective access, elevated insurance costs and implicit coercion.

Iran continues to allow limited passage under its own terms while signalling that any escalation, particularly against its energy or power infrastructure, would trigger broader disruption, including potential denial of the waterway.

Diplomatically, Trump’s pause has created a narrow window for indirect engagement through regional intermediaries even though the absence of any visible convergence between the two sides has made the pause look less a breakthrough and more a tactical adjustment.

Regional signalling is becoming sharper. Gulf states are gradually shifting toward a more assertive posture, with warnings that further targeting could prompt direct responses. At the same time, differences within the broader coalition, particularly regarding the scale and end goals of the campaign, have been evident.

The economic dimension is now the dominant pressure point. Oil markets continue to show extreme volatility, reacting sharply to both military developments and political messaging. While the focus has been mostly on oil, disruptions have spread across supply chains, including fertilisers, LNG and industrial inputs.

The situation at the end of Day 25 tells us that while some effort may be under way to tactically contain the war, one cannot ignore that it is expanding structurally. The pause may delay one axis of escalation, but on the whole, continuation of strikes, regional spillover and economic disruption are pushing the conflict toward a phase where control becomes harder to maintain, and the risks of a wider confrontation continue to rise.

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Header image: Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the eastern outskirts of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on March 24, 2026. — AFP

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JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president, under fire at home for signing up to US counterpart Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, has insisted his country would not pay the $1 billion joining fee for permanent membership.

Jakarta had only committed peacekeeping troops for the initiative, Prabowo Subianto said in a statement published on the presidential YouTube channel on Sunday.

The “Board of Peace” came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza.

Countries that want to be permanent members must pay $1 billion — sparking criticism the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.

Jakarta has only committed peacekeeping troops for initiative, says Indonesian president

Prabowo, a former general, has come under criticism from Indonesian Muslim groups for joining the board and pledging to send 8,000 peacekeeping troops to Gaza.

Prabowo attended the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace” in Washington last month.

But he later said he would withdraw from the board if it does not bring benefits to Palestinians or align with Indonesia’s national interests.

“We never said that we wanted to contribute $1 billion,” Prabowo said in statements broadcast on his YouTube channel Sunday.

He said he did not make any financial commitments “at all”.

Prabowo signed a tariff deal with the US last month, but insisted on Sunday that Indonesia could withdraw from any agreement if its conditions or execution threatens the national interest.

Talks with Washington about any peacekeeping mission to Gaza have been put “on hold”, according to state news agency Antara, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela.

Indonesia eyes $4.7 bn in savings

Meanwhile, Indonesia is eyeing up to 80 trillion rupiah ($4.7 billion) in savings to cushion its economy from the fallout of the war in the Middle East, according to the government.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is also mulling fuel-saving measures including one day of remote working per week for government and certain public sector workers as US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory response in the Gulf have sent global oil prices soaring.

In an interview, President Prabowo Subianto was asked about a possible shift in budget priorities for the country that heavily subsidises fuel for its population of just over 284 million.

The former general said the government was “making every effort” to cut costs by curbing energy consumption and boosting production of renewables, mainly solar power.

The government has repeatedly insisted Prabowo’s signature free meals programme — budgeted at $19.7 billion for 2026 — will remain untouched.

It has also so far staunchly defended its fuel subsidy, which covers about 30 to 40 per cent of the cost for consumers and represents around 15pc of the budget.

These form part of Prabowo’s goal to raise the economic growth rate from 5.1pc last year to 8pc by 2029, fuelled by public spending.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2026

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Pakistan, along with Turkiye and Egypt, is engaged in “active back-channel diplomacy” to “bridge the gap between” the US and Iran, an official confirmed to Dawn on Monday.

The official said that through “active back-channel diplomacy”, involving US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt were engaged in “quiet communication” to restore peace.

The source said a “strategic synergy” between Ankara, Cairo and Islamabad had established a “vital diplomatic conduit, demonstrating that regional cooperation is the most effective antidote to escalation”.

This “mediation effort” was more than just crisis management, the source said, adding that there were reports of tangible progress toward resolving outstanding issues and finding a sustainable end to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The development has emerged after US President Donald Trump said he had given orders to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further escalation in the conflict, and claimed Washington and Tehran had held “very good and constructive” talks over the past two days.

While Iran has denied holding any talks with the US in the last 24 hours, its foreign ministry has admitted receiving messages from “friendly countries” that it said indicated requests for talks by the US.

The ministry maintained that it had not responded to the messages.

For their part, the official said that Pakistan’s efforts are a reaffirmation of its role as a “net regional stabiliser” and Islamabad leveraging its “unique diplomatic position” to shift the focus from confrontation toward meaningful dialogue.

The source also referred to reports of progress made in mediatory efforts, adding that diplomatic efforts by Turkiye, Egypt and Pakistan offered the world a “roadmap for steering away from conflict and toward a safer future”.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has now entered its fourth week. It began with the US and Israel launching attacks on Iran, triggering a conflict that has expanded to the rest of the Middle East and the impact of which is being felt elsewhere, too, amid a global fuel crunch.

On the first day of attacks on Iran, the strikes also resulted in the assassination of then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the war, Gulf countries have also come under attack, and while Tehran accepts responsibility for some of the retaliatory attacks targeting US bases and assets in those countries, it denies having a role in others.

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AFTER a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia island in the Indian Ocean was targeted by two long-range missiles, there are conflicting claims about who fired the projectiles, which reportedly had a range of 4000km and were successfully intercepted.

Reports indicate that one missile failed mid-flight, while the other was intercepted by a US warship before reaching the island. According to an Al Jazeera report, the incident happened just hours before UK ministers were to assemble in London to discuss the Iran war. At the meeting, the UK agreed to let the US use its military bases for collective self-defence, it reported.

The UK condemned what it described as “reckless” Iranian actions after missiles, while Iran denied carrying out the attack.

However, a senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Tehran was not responsible for the alleged missile launch.

Earlier this month, Iran’s foreign minister said that Tehran kept its missile range under 2000km because it did not want the world to perceive them as a threat. It may be noted that during the course of the war, there were multiple attacks, for instance, those targeting Turkiye, which were pinned on Iran, but Tehran denied the responsibility.

Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, claimed that Iran used “a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000km” to target the US-UK base in Diego Garcia. He claimed Iran was a “direct threat” to Europe.

“Our approach to this conflict has been the same throughout. We were not and continue not to be involved in offensive action, and we’ve taken a different view from the US and Israel on this,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper while condemning the strikes.

An analyst quoted by Al Jazeera said the missile attack signalled that any “continuation of the war will come with increasingly high risk”.

The UK-US military airbase is home to nearly 2,500 mostly American personnel and has supported US military operations from Vietnam to Iraq, Afghanistan and strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2026

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KARACHI: Three people were arrested after a huge fire erupted in the gutted structure of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping centre on Sunday, which was brought under control by over half a dozen fire tenders after several hours, according to police and rescue services officials.

The development comes after a huge fire erupted at the shopping centre in January this year, claiming the lives of over 70 people and destroying hundreds of shops.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that the service received information about a fire in the basement at around 5:00pm.

“Six fire tenders managed to control the blaze after hectic efforts up to 70 per cent, but thick smoke and heat is still emanating from the building,” he stated.

Khan added that a “special response team” — set up after the previous Gul Plaza fire and equipped with the latest equipment — was deployed to the scene.

He said initially, they were informed that the fire had erupted “spontaneously” in bushes inside Gul Plaza’s basement.

“Since there was no ventilation inside the basement, firemen faced immense difficulties in controlling the blaze,” he explained.

He noted that there was no vegetation in the basement, but the fire had been fuelled by the remains of merchandise.

“Heavy machinery was called to extinguish it,” he added.

South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that police received information about the fire erupting at around 4:53pm.

“Three drug addicts have been taken into custody as initial findings suggest that the fire was started by them,” he said.

The South police chief added that drug addicts thronged the place, though he denied allegations of the theft of metals from the site.

“Eight policemen on duty at Gul Plaza have been suspended on charges of negligence,” DIG Raza said, adding that the relevant authorities had sealed the shopping centre and covered it with a green cloth.

“During recent rains, the damaged parts [of the building], which were previously covered, were further damaged. Because of this, the building was accessible and was not properly secured,” he explained.

The official said police had written a letter to the relevant authorities about the risk of drug addicts entering Gul Plaza, which may create a “security problem” and put lives at risk.

He said authorities were urged to “repair and secure the place as soon as possible to avoid any issue”. The DIG said police had asked the district administration for “enhanced security and re-sealing” of Gul Plaza after the rainfall in the metropolis this week.

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