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.

The European Union (EU) has condemned a Pakistani airstrike on a medical facility in Kabul, describing it as a deadly escalation in the ongoing conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The EU urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint and take all feasible measures to protect civilians, warning that attacks on civilian and medical facilities violate international humanitarian law.

The statement comes after a Pakistani strike on Monday night targeted the 2,000-bed Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul’s Pul-e-Charkhi area, killing hundreds and injuring several others.

“Civilian and medical facilities must never be targeted, as they are protected under International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions. All parties engaged in military operations have the obligation to respect these provisions under all circumstances,” the EU said.

The EU joined the international community in calling for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, on Tuesday claimed that the attack carried out by Pakistani forces at Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital killed more than 408 patients undergoing drug rehabilitation and injured over 265.

Addressing ambassadors, heads of missions, and representatives of international organisations in Kabul, Muttaqi said the strikes occurred around 9 p.m. on March 16 and were conducted by “military aircraft and drones of the Pakistani military regime,” deliberately targeting one of the most vulnerable groups in Afghan society.

He added that the victims were drug-addicted individuals receiving treatment through Afghan government programmes supported by international humanitarian organisations, and warned that the numbers could rise further.

Muttaqi accused Pakistan’s military of showing no regard for Islamic or humanitarian principles of warfare, deliberately striking civilian and humanitarian facilities, and highlighted that the assault came during the final days of Ramadan and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr.

He said Afghan security forces had responded with proportionate and defensive measures, targeting only military sites from which attacks were launched, and reiterated that such actions would continue until Pakistan ceased its “violations and crimes.”