PETROL price shocks are spiking unprecedented inflation, forcing us to rethink how we live, work and ultimately survive.

In Pakistan today, fuel prices are no longer a routine adjustment; they have become the central axis around which the entire economic structure revolves. Every decision, fiscal, industrial or household—is now directly or indirectly tied to the cost of petrol. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation already hovers in the range of 20–24% and fuel shocks threaten to push it even higher. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, prices tend to be “sticky”—once they rise, they rarely come down in line with global oil declines, largely due to weak governance and structural inefficiencies.

Pakistan’s economic reality is deeply intertwined with its reliance on imported energy. Oil, priced in dollars, constitutes a significant portion of the country’s import bill, often approaching nearly 40%. This makes fuel pricing not just an economic variable but a matter of national vulnerability. As global prices surge, the domestic impact is immediate and unforgiving. Transport costs rise overnight, food prices follow and inflation spreads rapidly across every sector. The result is a steady erosion of purchasing power, hitting the lower and middle classes the hardest.

This scenario will also deprive Pakistan of the........

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