In the wake of the escalating Iran-Israel-US war that triggered the oil crisis, the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration in Pakistan has introduced fuel-saving measures, from school closures to work-from-home instructions in offices. The measures, announced in a televised speech on Monday, have drawn criticism and humorous reactions from online users, with some describing them as “Covid-19-like measures”.
“The regional situation and the war have affected our hard-won economic stability, but the government is making every effort not to burden the common man,” Sharif said in a speech to the nation.
Among other things, members of the cabinet will not draw their salaries in the next two months and a ban on unnecessary official foreign trips has been imposed. Seminars and conferences will also be held in government buildings instead of hotels.
Social media responds with memes and criticism
Confused social media users asked, “Sab band kar diya isne, to baaki bacha kya hai Pakistan?” (“If everything was closed, what was left in Pakistan?”)
Many netizens also drew parallels with the Covid-19 lockdown that began in early 2020 and was imposed to limit the spread of the virus by imposing restrictions that affected almost every aspect of daily life.
Here’s what others have said:
The user wrote: “Imagine a beggar nation can’t survive one week of a war taking place outside the country. Now imagine a war in their own country.”
Another commented: “Two weeks of holidays to solve the oil crisis? Someone tell the prime minister that if you turn off the lights at school you won’t fill the tanks.” The comment comes as schools in Pakistan will remain closed for two weeks from Monday.
Another joked: “Bro if fuel is a problem tell ministers to go to rallies or use Zoom for speeches. Save fuel for school vans instead of VIP protocol.”
Another added: “Give me a loan, leave me alone.”
One more note: “Why such covid like measures bro?”
Another said, “They were all tied up, uncle.”
Fuel supplies can last four weeks
The government said last week that the country – heavily dependent on energy imports from the Persian Gulf – has enough oil reserves to meet national demand for about four weeks. However, the country’s largest gas distributor has already announced supply cuts to some industrial consumers.
In a notice issued to customers, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd said it would not be able to supply regasified LNG to fertilizer plants after being informed of outages by its own supplier, Pakistan State Oil.
