Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD’:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) to deal with the fallout of the Middle East war on the nation’s economy and its internal security, in a move that will also ensure faster decision-making in uncertain times.
The council was established hours before Pakistan negotiated a ceasefire. But at a maiden meeting of its executive committee held on Wednesday, the council decided it would continue to work as the danger of war still looms.
It may take many weeks for the economy to return to normal functioning, even if the ceasefire is converted into a permanent peace agreement.
Finance Minister Ahad Khan Cheema and Lt. Gen. Zafar Iqbal will be co-chairmen of the council’s executive committee, which has the representation of all federal departments, provincial governments and the special areas.
In a maiden meeting of the executive committee, the council allowed the export of surplus heating oil after taking full account of local energy production requirements. At least two refiners raised the issue of limited storage capacity, requiring the export of excess quantities.
According to the release, the Prime Minister has constituted the NCMC as a central platform that includes representation from all federal and provincial stakeholders to facilitate informed policy decision-making and ensure effective implementation at all levels in response to the economic challenges arising from the Gulf conflict.
The council has been mandated to manage internal security, including possible internal displacement and refugees due to any unfortunate situation. It has also been tasked with handling narrative management and control of disinformation.
The Council is responsible for the management and operationalization of financial, economic and trade-related policy initiatives.
The government sources said the civil-military authorities rushed over the past two days to make plans to secure energy supplies in case the US carries out its threat to attack energy infrastructure and Iran retaliates with attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure.
Pakistan explored the possibilities of importing fuels from Russia, Nigeria and some other countries. Besides the cost, the biggest problem was the cargo’s travel time, which could have increased to 30 to 35 days for a tanker due to any closure of the supply routes, the officials said.
The officials said there were about five different committees that had been set up during the last month of the war. These committees, on the one hand, helped to address issues arising in their respective domains, but on the other hand, fragmented decision-making.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the Committee on Monitoring and Securing Fuel Supplies and did an excellent job of ensuring that there was no shortage throughout the country. However, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired another committee which was responsible for finalizing a plan to provide targeted grants.
The Ministry of Information Technology separately examined the issue of payment of these subsidies, while a shipping committee dealt with the logistics issues. Another committee worked to resolve issues that could hamper Pakistan’s exports due to war.
The officials said that all these committees are being dissolved and now these decisions will take place in the forum of the National Coordination and Management Council.
According to the terms of reference, the council will monitor macroeconomic and commodity indicators and ensure that foreign exchange reserves remain stable and there is no sporadic movement in the value of the rupee against the US currency.
Oil and commodity management would be secured through digitized national dashboards and decisions would be made to address any supply bottlenecks.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves remained largely stable during the war, but the country is now set to repay $4.8 billion in debt this month.
Foreign remittances, which remain the main source of reserve stability, fell 5% in March despite the Eid factor due to uncertainty in Middle East markets.
The central bank reported that workers’ remittances were recorded at $3.8 billion, down 5% from the same month last year. But these were up 16.5% month-on-month compared to $3.2 billion in February.
Cumulatively, workers’ remittances rose 8.2% to $30.3 billion in the July-March period, compared with $28 billion received in the same period last year.
Remittances during March 2026 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia, $918.4 million, the United Arab Emirates $824 million and the United Kingdom $587.3 million.
The officials said the newly established council would ensure real-time scenario modeling, analysis for oil shocks, transmission disruptions, increases in freight costs and availability of critical raw materials.
According to its second mandate, the council would seek trade diversification by identifying potential export markets, alternative import sources, import conditions, utilization of port infrastructure and merchant ships.
The Council will work for energy security by maintaining strategic fuel reserves, price adjustment, rapid alternative purchases and supplementary subsidies for specific emergency expenses,
It would take over responsibility for spending rationalization and monitor austerity and energy-saving measures.
In the event of an extreme situation, the council has been given a mandate to carry out rationing of critical raw materials. The council will identify vulnerabilities in social communities for targeted subsidies and social safety nets.
