{"id":847,"date":"2026-11-14T16:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T16:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/14\/pakistans-fuel-lifeline-under-threat-un-sounds-alarm-on-maritime-attacks-choking-strait-of-hormuz-and-red-sea\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T16:40:07","slug":"pakistans-fuel-lifeline-under-threat-un-sounds-alarm-on-maritime-attacks-choking-strait-of-hormuz-and-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/14\/pakistans-fuel-lifeline-under-threat-un-sounds-alarm-on-maritime-attacks-choking-strait-of-hormuz-and-red-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan’s Fuel Lifeline Under Threat: UN Sounds Alarm on Maritime Attacks Choking Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A mounting crisis in two of the world’s most vital shipping corridors is threatening Pakistan’s energy security and economic stability, as the United Nations issued an urgent warning Friday about escalating attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways.<\/p>\n

Khaled Khiari, the UN’s assistant secretary-general for Middle East affairs, told the Security Council that growing tensions and maritime attacks in the region pose serious risks to international peace, regional stability, and the global economy. For Pakistan, which imports the vast majority of its oil and liquefied natural gas through these strategic chokepoints, the disruption carries immediate consequences for fuel prices and inflation.<\/p>\n

“Civilian vessels and commercial shipping must not become targets,” Khiari emphasized during the virtual briefing, which was requested by Bahrain. He warned that maritime incidents have continued to climb, with commercial ships facing various forms of attack and numerous vessels stranded in the Gulf for months.<\/p>\n

The scale of the problem is staggering. According to the International Maritime Organisation, October saw the highest monthly number of incidents against commercial shipping since February. As of mid-November, 134 confirmed attacks had been recorded in the Strait of Hormuz and wider Middle East maritime zones. Twenty-five seafarers have been killed, with many more injured or missing.<\/p>\n

The economic fallout extends far beyond the immediate region. Shipping restrictions have driven up energy costs, transportation expenses, and insurance premiums while fueling inflation globally. Food security is also at risk, particularly as fertilizer shipments face severe constraints. For Pakistan, already grappling with economic pressures and import challenges, these disruptions add another layer of vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Khiari stressed that current maritime arrangements in the Middle East remain “costly, unpredictable and unsafe,” warning that the longer restrictions persist, the harder it becomes to restore commercial confidence and normal trade flows. He urged the full restoration of safe maritime navigation in accordance with international law, insisting that strategic waterways must never be weaponized as tools of coercion.<\/p>\n

The UN official expressed cautious optimism that major military exchanges between the United States and Iran have paused since early September, though concerning rhetoric about potential renewed confrontation continues. Diplomatic activities have resumed in Doha and elsewhere, with the UN urging all parties to negotiate in good faith toward peaceful settlements.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen continues to deepen. The International Organisation for Migration reported Friday that ongoing military escalation has displaced more than 340,000 people since August. Government-aligned forces claimed Saturday they repelled a Houthi attack in southwestern Lahj province, while airstrikes reportedly targeted Houthi positions in neighboring Taiz.<\/p>\n

The fighting has intensified dramatically since July, particularly around Taiz province, which overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. This escalation has shattered a period of relative calm that had held since April 2022, further worsening Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation.<\/p>\n

For Pakistan’s policymakers and business community, the message is clear: instability in these distant waterways translates directly into challenges at home, from petrol pumps to grocery stores, making the restoration of maritime security a matter of urgent national interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mounting crisis in two of the world’s most vital shipping corridors is threatening Pakistan’s energy security and economic stability, as the United Nations issued an urgent warning Friday about escalating attacks on commercial vessels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3,6,4],"class_list":["post-847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-ai-consensus","tag-express-tribune","tag-journalist-ai"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/pakistan-s-fuel-lifeline-under-threat-un-sounds-alarm-on-maritime-attacks-choking-strait-of-hormuz-and-red-sea.png","read_time":"3 min read","source_name":"Goodforfree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}