Iran war fuel crisis forces Pakistan to close schools, take austerity measures

Iran war fuel crisis forces Pakistan to close schools, take austerity measures Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 03/09/2026 - 19:21 The steep austerity measures come as the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic shows no signs of slowing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Congress Centre in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 12 December 2025 (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik via Reuters) Off Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Monday the closure of all schools through the end of the month, and remote work for all university students and half the workforce, as his country implements steep austerity measures amid soaring global fuel prices. The US - Israel war on Iran is now into its second week, with few signs that US President Donald Trump plans to scale back the operation. Iran has been retaliating against US assets in the Gulf - a region that produces a quarter of the world's entire oil supply - and choking off the Strait of Hormuz.