The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Pakistan’s power outages.

In the midst of scorching heat, Pakistan is experiencing hours-long power outages due to a fuel crisis, as it is unable to obtain liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Italian and Qatari suppliers.

All of this is the result of a European campaign to boycott Russian fuel as a form of retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, putting the entire burden of fuel procurement on suppliers other than Russia. This not only plunges Pakistan into darkness, but also undermines the regime and destabilizes the newly formed government, according to report.

The country, the world’s fifth most populous, had made significant investments in the import of liquefied gas under long-term contracts with Italian and Qatari suppliers.

Some of these suppliers have left Pakistan in the situation it worked so hard to avoid, continuing to supply in lucrative European markets while restricting trade with developing markets.

LNG prices have risen by more than 1,000 percent in the last two years, first due to post-pandemic demand, and then due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is Europe’s largest natural gas supplier, and the threat of supply disruptions drove spot rates to an all-time high in March.

Already strapped for cash, Pakistan purchased a single LNG shipment from the spot market for around $100 million — a record high price — just to avoid power outages during the Eidul Fitr holidays in 2022. Pakistan’s current fiscal year will end in July.