{"id":125012,"date":"2026-04-30T04:18:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=125012"},"modified":"2026-04-30T04:18:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T23:18:54","slug":"pakistan-to-continue-peace-diplomacy-as-rising-oil-prices-add-economic-pressure-pm-shehbaz-sharif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125012\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan to Continue Peace Diplomacy as Rising Oil Prices Add Economic Pressure: PM Shehbaz Sharif"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Islamabad (National Times)  Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will continue its diplomatic efforts for regional peace, while rising global oil prices have increased economic pressure on the country.<br><div class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"><\/div>Addressing a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the prime minister said Pakistan had made serious diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to promote peace in the region, which contributed to a ceasefire that still remains in place. He credited Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir, and their teams for their sincere role, and also praised the efforts of Mohsin Naqvi.<br>The prime minister revealed that negotiations between Iran and the United States began in Islamabad on April 11, involving a 21-hour session between the two sides. These efforts led to a ceasefire, which was later extended and continues to hold.<br>He further noted that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan for detailed talks before traveling onward to Oman and Russia.<br>Highlighting the economic impact, Shehbaz Sharif said that the situation has caused a sharp rise in global crude oil prices, increasing Pakistan\u2019s weekly import bill from $300 million to $800 million. He acknowledged that rising prices have affected economic stability but said the government is taking collective measures to manage the situation.<br>\u201cOil prices are skyrocketing,\u201d he said, adding that prices will be reviewed again on Friday, calling the situation highly challenging.<br>The prime minister also appreciated the efforts of Ali Pervaiz Malik, noting that a task force is monitoring the situation daily, while consultations with provinces are ongoing to maintain subsidies in public transport and other sectors.<br>He added that Pakistan has recently repaid $3.5 billion in external debt and thanked the leadership of Saudi Arabia for its support. He emphasized the need for continuous hard work and unity to overcome challenges.<br>Expressing optimism, the prime minister said tensions in the region would ease soon and lasting peace would be achieved, reaffirming that Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic efforts for peace will continue.<br>Earlier, the federal cabinet reviewed the country\u2019s overall economic and political situation, including matters related to the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines and ongoing diplomatic initiatives regarding the Middle East conflict.<section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:9f0c885a-3128-488b-b41b-d1f0df7660d4-2\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-6\" data-scroll-anchor=\"false\" data-turn=\"assistant\"><div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"><div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"><div class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)-14*var(--spacing))]\"><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Islamabad (National Times) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will continue its diplomatic efforts for regional peace, while rising global oil prices have increased economic pressure on the country. Addressing a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the prime minister said Pakistan had made serious diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to promote peace in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pakistan to Continue Peace Diplomacy as Rising Oil Prices Add Economic Pressure: PM Shehbaz Sharif - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125012\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pakistan to Continue Peace Diplomacy as Rising Oil Prices Add Economic Pressure: PM Shehbaz Sharif - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Islamabad (National Times) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will continue its diplomatic efforts for regional peace, while rising global oil prices have increased economic pressure on the country. Addressing a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the prime minister said Pakistan had made serious diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to promote peace in [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125012\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T23:18:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T23:18:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-1-Recovered.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125012\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125012\/\",\"name\":\"Pakistan to Continue Peace Diplomacy as Rising Oil Prices Add Economic Pressure: PM Shehbaz Sharif - 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