Pakistan orders 9pm market close, halves fuel use, restricts foreign travel
The measures follow weeks in which Pakistan's army chief pressed Iran to keep Houthi forces from striking Saudi energy facilities
Published
Pakistan has ordered a set of emergency measures covering markets, fuel and travel. Financial markets will now close early, at 9 pm. Fuel consumption is to be cut by 50%. Foreign travel is being restricted.
The steps come during a period of regional tension over energy security. Pakistan's army chief has urged Iran to persuade Houthi forces not to target Saudi energy facilities, and that infrastructure remains under threat even as mediation and direct talks between the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis continue.
The order arrives weeks after Pakistan raised $3 billion through a bond sale and signed regional defense pacts. Market closures and fuel rationing point to strain that those steps have not resolved, and they raise the risk that liquidity or energy shortages inside Pakistan are more acute than the country's recent financing and diplomatic moves suggested. That leaves near-term stability in Pakistan, and in the wider region, harder to read for anyone with money exposed to it.