March 2026: nationwide two-week school closure ordered to conserve fuel
مارچ 2026: ایندھن کی بچت کے لیے ملک بھر میں اسکول دو ہفتے بند
- Effective
- Monday, 16 March 2026 – 31 March 2026
- Source
- Dawn
- Published
- 9 March 2026
On 9 March 2026 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced in a televised address that all schools would close for two weeks from the end of that week, with higher education institutions moving to online classes, as part of emergency austerity measures during the global fuel crisis. The same package cut fuel allowances for official vehicles by 50 percent, grounded 60 percent of government vehicles, introduced a four-day working week in the public sector, put 50 percent of public sector staff on work from home, and banned official foreign travel — all for two months. The trigger was a sharp rise in global oil prices following conflict in the Middle East and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This is a historical record of the March 2026 closure and is no longer in force; the separate austerity round announced on 17 September 2026 contains no school measure.