Attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure ‘worrying’ for outlook: Pakistan Finance Minister

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In an interview on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan had procured enough energy supplies to last through November 2026, and was now planning for the winter months, when household needs typically spike. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Finance Minister on Saturday (October 17, 2026) told AFP that the country had so far withstood the shock from skyrocketing energy prices caused by the Iran war, but that attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were “worrying” for the country’s longer-term economic outlook.

In an interview on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan had procured enough energy supplies to last through November 2026, and was now planning for the winter months, when household needs typically spike. “The first-order impact has been negotiated well by Pakistan,” he said. “We’ve had no shortage, no queues at the gas stations, and no law and order situation, which at times we have seen in some of the countries.”

He added that unless the government saw “an absolute dire need,” it would not procure spot cargoes on the LNG front, which tend to be far more expensive than previously contracted shipments.

Since the United States and ally Israel launched the war on Iran in February 2026, global energy prices have surged as Tehran’s retaliatory action has targeted Washington’s Gulf allies and curtailed oil and gas supplies. With Yemen’s civil war flaring back to life as well, Houthi militants have repeatedly attacked Saudi infrastructure, including energy facilities and airports, in recent days.

Mr. Aurangzeb expressed alarm at the escalation, saying damage to such sites would delay a return to economic normalcy. “What is now the worrying part of it is when the energy infrastructure starts getting hit,” he said. “I, to be very honest, I don’t know where that would go. But one thing is very clear: that if the infrastructure continues to get hit, the return to normalcy, even if things subside, will take longer.”

Pakistan has been a frequent customer of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the lender of last resort to countries on the brink of default. It is currently in the midst of its 25th programme with the Fund, at least 11 of which have been outright bailouts, since gaining independence in 1947. The current programme totals about $7 billion over three years, with the Fund reaching an agreement this month to release a $1.2 billion tranche.

With global debt stocks running high, the Fund has called, at this year’s annual meetings, on all economies, even those most vulnerable to the Iran war shock, to engage in fiscal consolidation to avoid a potential crisis. “Fortunately for us, we have been on this fiscal consolidation path for a while,” Mr.