Europe's plan to quit Russian fuel plunges Pakistan into darkness

In order to avoid blackouts during the Eid holiday last month, the Pakistan government paid nearly $100 million to procure a single LNG shipment from the spot market

Europe’s campaign to quit Russian fuel is designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. It’s also wreaking havoc thousands of miles away from the conflict, plunging Pakistan into darkness, undermining one regime and threatening the stability of the country’s new leadership.

A decade ago, the world’s fifth-most populous country took specific steps to insulate itself from the kinds of violent price spikes that are roiling the market today. It made a massive investment in liquified natural gas and signed long-term contracts with suppliers in Italy and Qatar. Now some of those suppliers have defaulted, though they continue to