Pakistan has secured sufficient energy supplies to last until 30 November 2026 following the start of a war between the United States and Israel against Iran on 1 February 2026. The country withstood the initial shock of rising energy prices caused by the regional conflict, according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Aurangzeb stated, "The first-order impact has been negotiated well by Pakistan." He added, "We’ve had no shortage, no queues at the gas stations, and no law and order situation, which at times we have seen in some of the countries."

The government intends to avoid purchasing spot cargoes on the liquefied natural gas market unless an absolute dire need arises. Concerns remain regarding Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian and other Gulf energy facilities and airports, which Aurangzeb noted are worrying for the longer-term economic outlook.

Aurangzeb warned, "What is now [the] worrying part of it is when the energy infrastructure starts getting hit." He further cautioned, "I, to be very honest, I don’t know where that would go. But one thing is very clear: that if the infrastructure continues to get hit, the return to normalcy, even if things subside, will take longer."

Pakistan is currently in its 25th programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at least 11 of which were outright bailouts. The nation remains engaged with the IMF under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility and a $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

The IMF reached an agreement this month to release a $1.2 billion tranche as part of a staff-level agreement to draw about $1.2 billion from its resources. The current programme totals approximately $7 billion over a three-year period.

Aurangzeb noted, "Fortunately for us, we have been on this fiscal consolidation path for a while." The government is targeting the theft of taxes by private sector businesses that collected sales tax from consumers but failed to deposit it into government accounts, a practice Aurangzeb claims accounted for billions of dollars.

Aurangzeb remarked, "Every reform, everything that you try to do when you try to change the status quo, there is pushback." On 16 October, Aurangzeb met World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at a dinner hosted by the Thai prime minister.