Islamabad, Pakistan – Web Desk: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened an important high-level meeting at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Monday, March 9, 2026, to address Pakistan’s mounting economic pressures amid the escalating Middle East conflict and its ripple effects on global oil prices, inflation, and domestic stability.
The session, attended by chief ministers of all four provinces, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, and the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, focused on approving a comprehensive national austerity policy through federal-provincial consensus.
Sources indicated the agenda included a thorough review of the country’s administrative and economic situation, with emphasis on joint strategies to ease the burden on citizens facing rising fuel and commodity costs triggered by the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war and associated supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Key proposals under discussion involve cost-cutting measures such as conducting official meetings via video platforms like Zoom, shifting school and college classes to online mode where feasible, and implementing work-from-home arrangements for government offices to reduce operational expenses and energy consumption.
The meeting also comes shortly after PM Sharif publicly commended security forces for eliminating 13 terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, underscoring the dual challenge of internal security and external economic shocks.
Decisions from the session are expected to shape immediate relief steps and long-term fiscal discipline as Pakistan navigates volatile global energy markets and regional instability.
