‘No wheat, no urea’: Pakistan may ‘unfreeze’ fuel prices amid energy crisis over US-Iran war

Due to ongoing West Asia conflict, the jet fuel and kerosene prices in Pakistan have reportedly skyrocketed without any formal announcement.

Updated on: Mar 25, 2026, 15:52:04 IST

Edited by Nikita Sharma

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As Pakistan becomes a central figure in the ongoing war between the United States and Iran, the country itself is not shielded from the consequences of the West Asia conflict. According to local reports, the fuel prices in Pakistan are surging so much that the government there is considering unfreezing prices of some petroleum products.

US President Donald Trump shared a post by Shehbaz Sharif offering to host talks between the US and Iran but did not confirming if he accepted the offer or not. (File Photo/REUTERS)

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday in a social media post that the country was "ready" to be the host to facilitate talks between Iran and the US. While the entire world looks for signs of de-escalation between the two countries engaged in a war, along with Israel which is backing the US, a stop to the war is also in high interest of Pakistan.

Also read: Nuclear disarmament, Hormuz opening: Inside Trump's 15-point ceasefire plan to end Iran war

According to senior Pakistani journalist Shams Kerio, if negotiations between Iran and the US are not fruitful, it could lead to increase in petrol prices there which, in turn, would lead to a huge loss and the poor “would not be able to eat”.

“If you look at the agricultural sector, it has become so expensive that you can’t buy DAP or Urea. There is no wheat, no cotton, no sugarcane... if the price of petrol increases, poverty will increase even more. We will go down so much that it will take 50 years for Pakistan to rise again,” Kerio told news agency ANI.

Also read: LPG supply to be snapped for those refusing PNG switch where available: Govt

Pakistan to ‘unfreeze’ fuel prices?

Due to ongoing West Asia conflict, the jet fuel and kerosene prices in Pakistan have skyrocketed without any formal announcement, according to a report by local newspaper Dawn.

The report said that the prices of jet fuel (JP-1) were raised by ₹84 a litre, making it ₹472 from ₹388, which came into effect last week on Saturday, March 21. Looking further back, the prices have increased around 150 per cent from ₹190 per litre since March 1. The kerosene prices have also increased by ₹71 per litre to Rs429 per litre from Rs358 per litre in a week, according to the report.

Also read: As Pakistan pitches to mediate, Iran turns back Karachi-bound ship at Strait of Hormuz over 'lack of permission'

However, so far, the petrol and high-speed diesel prices have not witnessed any major surge in Pakistan in the recent week, particularly after the Sharif-led government put a freeze in place on the prices of both the fuels post an initial surge of Rs55 per litre each. To cushion the impact of price revisions, the Pakistani government allocated around ₹69 billion in subsidies

Though some officials cited in the report said that such a freeze may be not sustained for long as the review of two IMF programmes remain in abeyance for over two weeks.

“You cannot postpone inflation artificially for long; the more you delay price adjustments, the greater pain you build for the future,” an official said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nikita Sharma
Nikita Sharma is a Senior Content Producer with Hindustan Times. She is a Delhi-based digital journalist with five years of experience writing and editing news stories across beats including crime, politics, tech, trends and much more, both national and international. At Hindustan Times, she is part of the news team and focuses on breaking news, keeping a track of what is happening where, and chasing ever-developing news stories. She has a penchant for covering crime, geopolitics, and Indian politics with a keen eye for stories often overlooked in the daily news cycle. At Hindustan Times, she has extensively covered several key events including the US Presidential elections, Air India plane crash, Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, US’ tariff war, and others. As a Delhi aficionado, she particularly enjoys roaming and writing about the national capital — its heritage, food, art and culture, and the many problems that come with it — the pollution, waterlogging, traffic, and more. Nikita did her Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication from GGSIPU and started working as a digital journalist in 2021. During her first stint, she covered hyperlocal news at a Delhi-based newsroom, writing and editing stories on builder-buyer conflicts, civic issues such as potholes, waterlogging, lack of facilities at hospitals in Delhi, crippling of the city during peak monsoon season. She also wrote features covering Delhi’s art exhibitions, heritage walks, artist profiles, museums, classical Hindustani music concerts and dance shows. She entered mainstream news in 2023 and has previously worked at NDTV.Read More

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