Life on the brink

IN June of this year, the Pakistani government had issued two tenders to buy LNG on the international market but didn’t receive any bids. Pakistan’s devaluing currency and lack of foreign exchange, coupled with the political turmoil plaguing the country, has apparently made it a bad risk. This means what it always means, which is that there is likely to be an even worse-than-usual shortage of gas in the country as it makes its way towards the winter months. One way to cushion the perpetual bad news of life in 2023 is to present the bad news first so that even slight improvements can be touted as successes. In the spirit of that kind of spin, I am happy to report that in July there was a bidder: the commodities trader Trafigura. Although there are no reports to indicate a deal, a buoyed caretaker government issued two new tenders for LNG recently. It expects to receive bids because of the slight improvement of the economic condition post the IMF agreement. When things have been hopeless for so long, even a tiny dilution of misery is worth celebrating.