KARACHI, PAKISTAN — March 2, 2026 — Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI, and Former Provincial Minister Information Technology, today expressed profound condolence over the Shadat of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and expressed profound concern over the rapidly escalating military conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Mian Zahid Hussain cautioned that the unfolding war threatens to inflict critical economic and security repercussions on the entire region and Pakistan.
Mian Zahid Hussain stated, “The unprecedented military strikes on Iran by US and Israel and Iran’s subsequent retaliations over the US bases in Gulf Countries and Israel have pushed the Middle East into a highly volatile state. For Pakistan, a nation actively navigating a delicate macroeconomic recovery, the stakes are incredibly high”.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the recent conflict has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint, controlled by Iranian forces. The immediate market reaction has been severe, disrupting global supply chains and commodities. Hussain highlighted that approximately 20% of the world’s petroleum, roughly 15 to 20 million barrels per day, transits through the Strait of Hormuz.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that Brent crude prices surged nearly 13% immediately following the outbreak of hostilities, quickly approaching the to 12-month high of $ 80 per barrel mark. Energy analysts project that a prolonged disruption could drive prices toward $100 per barrel.
He further expressed that the sustained energy disruptions are forecasted to add 0.6 to 0.7 percentage points to global inflation, threatening to reverse recent disinflationary trends. Safe-haven assets have spiked, with gold surging over 24% in 2026 alone, signaling deep investor anxiety and threatening capital flight from emerging markets.
“Our heavy reliance on imported crude oil and huge inflow of remittances from GCC Countries makes Pakistan acutely vulnerable to these external shocks in addition to Pakistan stock market meltdown. The sudden spike in geopolitical risk premiums, soaring war-risk maritime insurance, and elevated freight rates will inevitably inflate our national import bill. This threatens to trigger a new wave of inflation, exponentially increasing the cost of doing business, and bank mark-up for our industrial sector and paralyzing export logistics,” Mian Zahid Hussain noted.
Mian Zahid Hussain expressed that beyond the economic dimensions, the regional destabilization poses profound security challenges for Islamabad. Pakistan shares a highly sensitive, 900-kilometer border with Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province. The outbreak of a broader Middle Eastern war coincides dangerously with heightened volatility on Pakistan’s western frontier, where recent cross-border militancy and severe military clashes with Afghanistan have intensified. The intersection of these active border security challenges with a massive regional conflict severely narrows the country’s strategic and diplomatic maneuverability, creating a three-front pressure matrix.
Mian Zahid Hussain urged the Government of Pakistan to immediately implement comprehensive contingency plans to secure energy supply chains, protect foreign exchange reserves, and explore strategic hedging for essential oil imports. Furthermore, he echoed the urgent need for the international community and the United Nations Security Council to prioritize immediate diplomatic negotiations over military posturing.
“It is imperative that all global actors exercise maximum restraint. The stability of the global economy and the internal security of South Asia depend entirely on an immediate de-escalation of this conflict,” Mian Zahid Hussain concluded.
