In yet another situation that has exposed Islamabad's vulnerability, a Pakistan minister has admitted that the country has "no strategic oil reserves" like neighbouring India, as it deal with a fuel crisis due to the ongoing war between the United States (US) and Iran. The remarks were made by Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik during an interview with a local TV news channel.
According to Malik, India is better prepared to deal with a fuel crisis, as he blamed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the bailout conditions imposed by it for Pakistan's current situation. Pakistan does not even have strategic petroleum reserves for a single day, the minister pointed out.
"India doesn't just have 600 Arab dollars worth of reserves but they also maintain strategic reserves. This helps them cushion this crisis. Besides, they are not part of IMF programme and they tried to insulate themselves by reducing taxation as oil prices soared ... they had the fiscal space to do that," he told Samaa TV.
Malik's remarks expose Pakistan's volatility, which shows why Islamabad has been acting as a mediator to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran. Interestingly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said that Pakistan is facing an "economic fallout" due to the war in the Gulf, but the country is able to deal with the situation with support from Saudi Arabia.
Notably, Pakistan has a defence pact with Saudi Arabia, which is somewhat like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"Allah Almighty had placed our economy on a macro level, and we were growing in numbers, but as a result of this sudden war, our efforts made in the last two years have gone down. You and I have no say in this," the Pakistani prime minister was quoted as saying by Arab News.
The first round of talks between the US and Iran was held in Islamabad last month. The second round of talks are also expected to be held there. However, a US report has warned the Trump administration against trusting Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, who it alleged is trying to protect Iran's interest.
Similarly, an Iranian lawmaker has also alleged that Pakistan, despite being a "good neighbour" cannot be "suitable intermediary" for the talks.
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