The energy disruption hits Pakistan and Bangladesh with growing force as a Gulf crisis chokes two of the world’s most vital trade routes, leaving households and governments across South Asia scrambling for solutions. In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Parvin Akter times her cooking to the neighbourhood’s availability of piped gas. With gas in intermittent supply as a result of a global energy crunch, she now sometimes has to wait until midnight to cook her dinner. Even switching to an induction cooker has not helped, as power outages often leave food half-cooked.
More than 2,000 kilometres away on the other side of South Asia, in Pakistan, the government has started a fuel subsidy that went into effect on Wednesday to ease the sharp rise in fuel prices. Vehicle owners have to register for the subsidy, however, and residents have complained the programme is not working smoothly. Mohammad Musharraf, who lives in Karachi, says he has spent days trying to register with his motorcycle and ID card number, but has struggled.
“First of all, you have to register your vehicle. Then you have to register your mobile phone. How can an illiterate person survive if the conditions are so difficult?” he said.
A worker checks customers’ mobile phones for a code before refuelling their vehicles at a petrol station following the rollout of a fuel relief scheme, which provides a fuel subsidy for eligible motorcycles, rickshaws and vehicles with engines of up to 800cc, in Karachi on Sept 17, 2026.
The roots of the crisis stretch far beyond South Asia. Attacks by the US and Israel on Iran over six months ago led to the disruption of oil and gas exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Now fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis also imperils trade through the Red Sea. The problems at the two chokepoints have driven Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices back toward $30 per million British thermal units this week, the second such spike this year, from about $10 before the war.
Shell estimates the world has lost roughly 36 million tonnes of LNG from the Middle East so far this year, and the shortage is particularly hitting countries where governments have limited financial leeway to intervene. In Bangladesh, the shortfall has triggered blackouts that have compounded the daily struggles of residents like Akter, who must balance cooking, electricity and household needs against an unpredictable supply.
The double chokehold at the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea has exposed how vulnerable Asian economies remain to distant conflicts. For Pakistan, the hastily rolled out subsidy programme reflects an attempt to cushion consumers from prices that have climbed sharply, but the registration requirements have created new barriers. For Bangladesh, the intermittent gas and power supply has turned routine tasks into logistical puzzles.
Analysts note that the second LNG price spike of the year signals that markets remain unsettled, and there is little indication the pressures will ease soon. With governments in both countries facing limited fiscal room, the energy disruption hits Pakistan and Bangladesh hardest at the household level, where the gap between policy announcements and daily reality is measured in midnight meals and half-cooked food.
Source: Dawn News