President Asif Ali Zardari will preside over a high-level meeting at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East and Pakistan\u2019s role as a mediator, sources told\u00a0The Express Tribune\u00a0on Monday.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, key federal ministers, senior military officials, and\u00a0provincial chief ministers are expected to attend the session.<\/p>\n
The agenda will include a detailed review of the Iran\u2013US\u2013Israel conflict and the latest developments, as well as the situation arising from attacks on Gulf countries, sources said.\u00a0The meeting will also review Pakistan\u2019s petroleum reserves and supply chains, as well as the implementation of austerity measures, they added.<\/p>\n
Participants are expected to be briefed on potential \u201csmart lockdowns\u201d and other contingency measures, with provincial proposals on such lockdowns also under consideration.\u00a0In addition, sources said key decisions regarding subsidies for motorcycle and rickshaw drivers are also expected during the session.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will also brief participants on the outcomes of the four-nation foreign ministers\u2019 meeting. The quadrilateral\u00a0consultations\u00a0involving foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt were\u00a0held in Islamabad on Sunday as part of a coordinated effort by key Muslim countries to bring an end to the ongoing Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n
Yesterday’s meeting concluded with\u00a0initial discussions\u00a0reportedly focused on proposals to reopen the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz\u00a0to shipping. Foreign ministers from the three regional powers\u00a0landed in Islamabad\u00a0for the talks. The discussions came as Iran warned the US against launching a\u00a0ground attack, and global\u00a0oil prices surged\u00a0amid\u00a0continued fighting\u00a0between Iran, the US, and Israel.<\/p>\n
Read:\u00a0Pakistan signals Iran-US talks in ‘coming days’<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also\u00a0announced\u00a0on Sunday that Islamabad could host high-stakes talks between Iran and the United States “in the coming days”.<\/p>\n
The meeting will also assess Pakistan\u2019s petroleum reserves and supply, review the implementation of austerity policies, and consider potential smart lockdowns and related measures. Provincial suggestions regarding smart lockdowns will be evaluated, and key decisions on subsidies for motorcycle and rickshaw drivers are also expected.<\/p>\n
Sources said on Saturday that the federal government has\u00a0finalised\u00a0a comprehensive plan to impose a nationwide “smart lockdown” alongside expanded austerity measures aimed at curbing energy consumption and managing the deepening fuel crisis triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The proposed plan combines targeted restrictions on public activity with structural changes in workplace operations, as authorities attempt to sustain economic activity while sharply reducing fuel and electricity demand.<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Fuel crisis: govt mulls smart lockdown<\/p>\n
International crude oil prices have surged beyond $100 per barrel amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, significantly increasing the import burden for energy-dependent economies. Earlier this month, the government raised petrol and high-speed diesel prices, pushing petrol above Rs321 per litre and diesel beyond Rs335 per litre.<\/p>\n
Officials say Pakistan’s heavy reliance on imported fuel has made it particularly vulnerable to external shocks, with rising oil prices expected to strain foreign exchange reserves and widen the current account deficit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Asif Ali Zardari will preside over a high-level meeting at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East and Pakistan\u2019s role as a mediator, sources told\u00a0The Express Tribune\u00a0on Monday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, key federal ministers, senior military officials, and\u00a0provincial chief ministers are expected to attend the session. The agenda will …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3101,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3096\/revisions\/3101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}