Islamabad, March 19: An assistant sub-inspector of the Elite Force was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Mano Banda area of Gandigar in Upper Dir district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported on Thursday, citing police.

Bacha Yousaf Khan was targetted by assailants outside his residence. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. According to police sources, Khan was heading to mosque to offer prayers when he was targeted, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.

After the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the site, cordoned off the area and started a search operation to find the attackers. The Gandigar police lodged a case against unknown assailants and began a probe. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last week, at least six police personnel were killed and one injured in a blast near a police vehicle in the Bettani tribal of Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to a spokesperson of the local police, the explosion took place near a police mobile, causing death of six police personnel and injuries to one policeman, Pakistan’s leading media outlet Geo News reported.

On March 8, a senior officer of the Counter Terrorism Depar­tment (CTD) was killed after unidentified assailants opened fire at him in the Killi Ismail area of Pakistan’s Quetta, local media reported.

Police said Inspector Metha Khan, who recently joined CTD, was shot by armed men when he was passing through the Killi Ismail area on March 8, Dawn reported. A senior police that the CTD officer died on the spot after the armed men on motorcycles opened fire at him. The official further said that the gunmen escaped from the spot following the incident.

Meanwhile, a report released by an Islamabad-based think tank revealed that combat-related deaths in Pakistan increased by 30 per cent in February, caused due to a rise in suicide attacks across the country.

A report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) revealed that 470 deaths and 333 injuries were documented in February. The victims include 96 civilians, 80 security forces personnel and 294 militants. The number of injured included 259 civilians, 50 security forces personnel and 24 militants, Dawn reported.

The figure showcase a 74 per cent rise in the deaths of security forces personnel, a 32 per cent increase in civilian deaths and 21 per cent surge in militant deaths in comparison to January.

As many as 53 security forces personnel and six civilians were killed while 35 security personnel and 48 civilians were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in February. Three suicide bombing incidents took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which claimed 17 lives, including that of 14 security forces personnel and injured 20 people.

As many as 34 people were killed and 165 others were injured in a suicide bombing incident in Islamabad. Furthermore, two police personnel were killed and four others were injured in a suicide bombing in the Bhakkar district of Punjab province, Dawn reported. The eight suicide attacks reported in January and February in this year are nearly half the total for all of 2025, when 17 such incidents were reported.

According to the data released by PICSS, the first two months of 2026 witnessed 831 combat-related deaths, including 536 militants, 169 civilians and 126 security forces personnel.

New Delhi, March 19: Pakistan has limited petroleum reserves, with crude oil stocks sufficient for just 11 days, raising concerns over energy security amid disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict, a report has said.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum, the secretary petroleum said the country currently has diesel reserves for 21 days, petrol for 27 days, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for nine days and jet fuel for 14 days, according to a report in The Express Tribune.

Nearly 70 per cent of Pakistan’s petroleum imports come from the Middle East, and the ongoing conflict has disrupted key shipping routes and supply chains, the official said.

Pakistan is in talks with Iran to secure permission for oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which could allow four vessels to transport crude cargoes if approved.

Officials also warned of a potential gas crisis, with the country likely to face a severe shortage after April 14 due to disruptions in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.

Of the eight LNG cargoes expected in March, only two reached Pakistan, while several shipments scheduled for April may also be affected.

The report also said that the conflict has also led to a sharp rise in global oil prices, with high-speed diesel prices increasing significantly and petrol costs also witnessing a steep jump. Shipment timelines have been impacted as well, with deliveries via the Red Sea now taking nearly 12 days compared to the usual four to five days, it said.

Moreover, authorities are considering measures to prioritise gas supply for domestic consumers, while reducing supply to industries and commercial users to manage shortages.

In a relief measure, the government has decided to provide a subsidy of Rs 23 billion to around 30 million motorcycle and rickshaw owners, funded through savings from austerity measures.

Meanwhile, the government has initiated daily reviews of petroleum stocks to closely monitor the situation.

“The country currently has adequate fuel availability for March, with arrangements in place to ensure supplies through mid-April,” according to officials.

Washington, March 19: US President Donald Trump said that the United States “knew nothing” about Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and warned Tehran of massive retaliation if it “unwisely” targets Qatar again, after Iran struck a portion of Qatar’s LNG facility following the attack.

Trump on Wednesday night (Local time) said Israel had “violently lashed out” at the South Pars Gas Field, “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East,” but stressed that “a relatively small section of the whole has been hit.”

He underlined that Washington had no prior role in the operation. “The United States knew nothing about this particular attack,” Trump said, adding that “the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.”

According to Trump, Iran responded without full knowledge of the circumstances. “Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility,” he said.

The US President issued a clear warning aimed at deterring further escalation involving critical energy assets in the Gulf. “No more attacks will be made by Israel pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar,” he said.

Trump added that any future Iranian attack on Qatar would trigger overwhelming US action. “In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” he said.

At the same time, he signalled reluctance to escalate further. “I do not want to authorise this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so,” Trump said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, escalating attacks on Persian Gulf oil-and-gas infrastructure are sending the US-Israeli war with Iran into a dangerous new phase that threatens to worsen the crisis over global energy supplies.

“Israel and Iran had already hit energy facilities throughout the nearly three-week-old war, but Wednesday’s attacks struck some of the world’s most important hubs and raised the prospect of tit-for-tat volleys against oil-and-gas facilities,” the financial daily said.

Already, the conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the wider world that carries about 20 per cent of the global oil and liquefied-natural gas supply during normal times, it said.

The developments have heightened tensions across the Persian Gulf, with energy infrastructure emerging as a key flashpoint. Iran warned countries around the region that a number of energy assets are now “legitimate targets” following the strike on South Pars.

South Pars, located in southwest Iran, is the country’s largest natural gas field and a central pillar of its energy system. It accounts for roughly 75 per cent of Iran’s natural gas production, while natural gas fuels about 85 per cent of the country’s electricity grid.

The field is widely regarded as the world’s largest natural gas reserve and is shared between Iran and Qatar.