ISLAMABAD: When Muhammad Ibraheem started his workday earlier this week, he didn’t head out to meet clients across Islamabad. Instead, he opened his laptop for a remote meeting, one of several adjustments he has made since Pakistan announced a record increase in fuel prices.
The South Asian nation of more than 240 million people is struggling to absorb a 55-rupee-per-liter jump in petrol prices, the largest single increase in the country’s history. The hike, announced last week, pushed petrol to a record 321.17 rupees ($1.15) per liter, driving up transport costs and forcing many Pakistanis to rethink daily routines.
The price shock came after global crude briefly surged above $110 per barrel amid escalating war in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran, raising fears that disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a transit route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, could choke global energy flows.
Oil prices have since retreated from those highs as markets weigh the possibility of de-escalation, but volatility remains high and governments dependent on imported fuel, including Pakistan, are bracing for further swings.
“The sudden increase in petrol prices is like a bomb being dropped on the public,” Ibraheem, the 37-year-old founder of a digital marketing firm, Technology Village, told Arab News. “It has shaken the middle class completely.”
The Pakistani government, managing a fragile economic recovery under strict International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, defended the decision as necessary to prevent supply disruptions.
Addressing a midnight press conference in Islamabad, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said last week the government was facing “unusual circumstances” because of the regional war, noting that “the fire that ignited in our neighborhood has engulfed the entire region.”
He explained that the surge left the administration with “no option but to raise domestic petroleum prices to avoid any disruption in the country’s energy supply.”
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also stressed the necessity of the move, saying that while the government aimed to “pass on the minimum effect to the end consumer,” it ultimately had “little choice” but to do so to stabilize national finances and meet commitments linked to IMF consultations.
For Ibraheem, however, the arithmetic of everyday life has changed overnight.
“I had a drive of 60 to 70 kilometers (37 to 43 miles) on a daily basis,” he said, explaining that his routine involved commuting to the office and traveling across the city to meet clients.
“But after the petrol price hike, I now have to think about other things as well. One is to move my office closer to home and to schedule meetings with clients, whom I used to meet daily, on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.”
For frequent meetings, he now relies on video calls instead of driving across the city.
But the impact extends far beyond commuting. In Pakistan, where transportation costs feed directly into food prices and supply chains, any rise in petroleum prices quickly pushes up the cost of basic goods.
“With petrol prices rising, the cost of our daily necessities, like vegetables, fruits and other items, also increases,” Ibraheem noted. “But when petrol prices fall, the prices of other items do not always decrease.”
At a fuel station in Islamabad’s F-6 sector, manager Talib Hussain said demand had already started to drop.
“Usage has decreased, many people who had routine usage have reduced it, and even extraordinary usage has declined,” Hussain told Arab News.
“There is a significant difference in filling,” he added.
Fuel retailers are also feeling the pressure because their commissions depend on the volume of fuel sold rather than price, meaning falling consumption reduces their margins even as the cost of maintaining inventory rises.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a weekly review of fuel prices, replacing the traditional fortnightly adjustment, to ensure that any declines in global markets are passed on to consumers more quickly.
He has also directed provincial authorities to crack down on hoarding and profiteering, while announcing measures to reduce fuel consumption, including shutting down schools, and ordering fewer working days for government offices and expanded remote work.
For many Pakistanis already coping with high electricity bills, stagnant wages and rising living costs, however, the shift in lifestyle may outlast the current crisis.
As Ibraheem prepares for more online meetings, driving has begun to feel less like a routine part of life and more like a luxury.
“My colleagues are even thinking about leaving their cars and coming to the office using motorcycles or bicycles,” he said.
