Pakistan’s fuel smugglers squeezed by rising costs as Iran war hits supply

2026.03.18 12:50 Vendors fill their jerrycans with smuggled Iranian petrol, on the outskirts of Quetta in Balochistan province on Saturday. Photo: AFP In Pakistan’s southwestern mountains, pickup trucks loaded with plastic cans of fuel smuggled from Iran line dusty roads as youngsters unload the containers, fill smaller cans and strap them onto motorbikes to supply nearby markets. The illicit trade has long thrived in the region but is feeling the knock-on effects of the war which has engulfed the Middle East following US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Supplies coming across the 900km (560-mile) border between Pakistan and Iran have dropped by nearly half and driven up prices. “Before the war, the rate was good,” Hakeem Ullah, a 35-year-old driver, said. “We used to get petrol for 150 rupees (54 US cents) per litre. But now, after the war, we are getting petrol for 190 rupees.” Vendors transport jerrycans filled with smuggled Iranian petrol on their motorcycles in Balochistan province. Photo: AFP Ullah is one of dozens of young men in the border towns of Balochistan province who transport fuel across the frontier every day in blue Iranian-made Zamyad trucks. A single trip that once earned him a steady profit has now seen his margin cut by half due to the spike in cost and disrupted supplies. “We would make a profit of approximately 40 to 50,000 rupees per vehicle, and buyers would also be found quickly,” said Ullah in Mastung, around 50km south of the provincial capital Quetta. “We have been standing here for the last five days but we are not getting a fair price at which we can sell it.” Pakistan is reliant on oil and gas from the Gulf. Since war broke out, prices have increased at the pump and the government has introduced curbs to limit fuel consumption. Measures include cutting the working week for government workers to four days and shutting public schools. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that there would be no military parades and flypasts at nex

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