Pakistan, July 9 -- Saudi Arabia's biggest oil price cut in a generation is not about selling cheaper oil. It is the first shot in a new oil war.

But what if the biggest winners are not Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, or the oil companies? What if they are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the billions of ordinary consumers across Asia? Why does the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz matter more than most people realise? Why can one extra million barrels of oil move the entire global economy? Why does the last barrel determine what every country pays for energy? Has OPEC's old order finally begun to fracture?

And why should Pakistan's role in helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz be recognised far more widely not as a diplomatic trophy, bu...