Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD’:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) to address the fallout of the Middle East war on the country’s economy and its internal security, in a move that will also ensure faster decision-making in times of uncertainty.
The council was established hours before Pakistan negotiated a ceasefire. But at an inaugural meeting of its executive committee on Wednesday, the council decided it would continue working as the danger of war still looms.
It may be many weeks before the economy returns to normal functioning, even if the ceasefire becomes a permanent peace agreement.
Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema and Lieutenant General Zafar Iqbal are appointed co-chairmen of the council’s executive committee, which has representation from all federal departments, provincial governments and special areas.
At an inaugural executive committee meeting, the council allowed the export of surplus furnace oil after fully taking into account local energy production needs. At least two refineries raised the issue of limited storage capacity, requiring the export of excess volumes.
According to the notification, the Prime Minister has constituted the NCMC as a central platform, comprising representation of all federal and provincial stakeholders, to facilitate informed policy decision-making and ensure effective implementation at all levels in response to economic challenges arising from the Gulf conflict.
The council has been given the mandate to manage internal security, including possible internal displacement and refugees due to any adverse situation. It has also been tasked with narrative management and control of disinformation.
The council is responsible for the management and implementation of financial, economic and commercial policy measures.
Government sources said that over the past two days civil and military authorities have scrambled to make plans to secure energy supplies in case the United States carried out its threat to attack energy infrastructure and Iran responded with attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure.
Pakistan examined options to import fuel from Russia, Nigeria and some other countries. Besides cost, the main problem was cargo travel time, which could have increased from 30 to 35 days for a tanker due to the closure of supply routes, officials said.
Officials said that around five different committees had been constituted during the last month of the war. These committees, on the one hand, helped address issues that arose in their respective spheres, but on the other hand, they fragmented decision-making.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the fuel supply security and monitoring committee and did a splendid job in ensuring that there was no shortage across the country. However, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired another committee, which was responsible for finalizing a plan to provide targeted subsidies.
The Ministry of Information Technology was separately examining the issue of disbursement of these grants, while a Maritime Affairs committee was dealing with logistical issues. Another committee was working to address issues that could hamper Pakistan’s exports due to the war.
The officials said that all these committees are being dissolved and now these decisions will be taken in the forum of the National Coordination and Management Council.
Under its terms of reference, the council will monitor macroeconomic and commodity indicators and ensure that foreign exchange reserves remain stable and there are no sporadic movements in the value of the rupee against the US currency.
Management of oil and raw materials would be ensured 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 pay off $4.8 billion in debt this month.
Foreign remittances, which remain the key source of reserve stability, declined by 5% in March despite the Eid factor, due to uncertainties in the Middle East markets.
The central bank reported that workers’ remittances were recorded at $3.8 billion, 5% less than the same month last year. But these increased 16.5% month-on-month compared to February’s revenue of $3.2 billion.
Overall, workers’ remittances rose 8.2% to $30.3 billion during the July-March period, compared to $28 billion received during the same period last year.
Remittances during March 2026 came mainly from Saudi Arabia, $918.4 million, United Arab Emirates $824 million, and United Kingdom $587.3 million.
Officials said the newly created council would ensure real-time scenario modelling, analysis of oil crises, disruptions in remittances, rising transportation costs and availability of critical commodities.
Under its other mandate, the council would seek trade diversification by identifying potential export markets, alternative import sources, import conditions, utilization of port infrastructure and merchant shipping.
The council will work towards energy security by maintaining strategic fuel reserves, price adjustment, alternative fast-track procurement and supplementary grants for specific emergency expenses.
It would take responsibility for rationalizing spending and oversee austerity and energy conservation measures.
In case of any extreme situation, the council has been mandated to implement rationing of critical products. The council would identify vulnerabilities in social communities for targeted subsidies and social safety nets.
