Aurangzeb: Gulf Energy Attacks Threaten Pakistan OutlookWorld

He added that the government would not buy expensive spot-market LNG cargoes unless it saw “an absolute dire need”, relying instead on previously contracted shipments, which are far cheaper.

<h2>Gulf attacks the key risk</h2> Since the United States and its ally Israel launched the war on Iran in February, global energy prices have surged as Tehran&#8217;s retaliatory strikes targeted Washington&#8217;s Gulf allies and curtailed oil and gas supplies. Yemen&#8217;s civil war has also flared back to life, with the Houthis repeatedly attacking Saudi infrastructure, including energy facilities and airports, in recent days.

Aurangzeb expressed alarm at the escalation, saying damage to energy sites would delay any return to normalcy. &#8220;What is now (the) worrying part of it is when the energy infrastructure starts getting hit,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I, to be very honest, I don&#8217;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.&#8221;

<h2>IMF talks and reforms</h2> The finance minister said Pakistan remained on a fiscal consolidation path and had grown tax revenues significantly in recent years. He said the government was targeting the theft of taxes by private-sector businesses that collect sales tax from consumers but never deposit it in government accounts, a theft worth billions of dollars, adding there was room for improvement in income-tax collection.

He acknowledged that the reform agenda had faced resistance from industry, lobbying groups and vested interests. &#8220;Every reform, everything that you try to do when you try to change the status quo, there is pushback,&#8221; he said.

Aurangzeb also met Jihad Azour, director of the IMF&#8217;s Middle East and Central Asia Department, in Bangkok. Pakistan&#8217;s Finance Ministry said both sides reviewed progress on revenue, inflation, growth and the current account, and discussed energy procurement, winter preparedness, adequate fertiliser supplies to safeguard food security, stronger reserves, longer debt maturities, privatisation and greater private-sector participation in exports.

Pakistan is currently in its 25th IMF programme, worth about $7 billion over three years, with the Fund reaching an agreement this month to release a $1.2 billion tranche, according to reports.