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Power riots
There is little the police can do to subdue protesters. Only solution is to provide a steady supply of electricity.
Arson and violence, no matter how bad the power crisis is, must not be condoned.PHOTO: ONLINE
Pakistan’s seemingly endless, sweltering summer reached its nadir as protests against power cuts in Punjab turned exceptionally violent. Demonstrators have started targeting the houses of MNAs and MPAs, as a result of which two people have died in retaliatory firing by the guards posted outside an MNA’s house in Kamalia. There was also at least one fatality in Khanewal, while in Sahiwal and other cities of the province, the protesters decided to go after their public representatives. Some of the methods of protest — setting fire to the offices of electricity companies — were bizarre and counterproductive.
Clearly, the authorities cannot let these protests carry on for much longer. Having demonstrators block major highways and railway tracks cannot be tolerated. Arson and violence, no matter how bad the power crisis is, must not be condoned. However, law-enforcement officials need to learn to deal with the protesters in a just and proportionate manner. In Khanewal, a protester was killed after an MNA’s security detail started firing live bullets. Elsewhere, tear gas was liberally employed by the police. Such actions serve only to further inflame passions and will likely lead to even more people coming out on the streets. The use of water cannons, which may actually have been welcome in this heat, may have been wiser. Also, instead of firing live bullets, the use of rubber bullets as an alternative should be considered.
Ultimately, though, there is little the police can do to subdue the protesters. The only solution is to provide a steady supply of electricity. It may be too late for the government to do anything in this regard this year, but hopefully these protests will stir it into action for coming years. Solving the power crisis needs to be its number one priority. If that means building the Iran gas pipeline and snubbing the US, then so be it. If that means defying the establishment and importing electricity from India, then that is a price the government should be ready to pay for the betterment of the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2012.
Reader Comments (4)
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People must understand that riots will solve nothing. It is the politicians who are using gullible innocents to further their own rule. Expect a change in next elections which is not very far away from now.
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@Sherlock Holmes: When you do not have power for 18-20 Hours a day, you are out of job as the machines w’ont run and you are hungry and sleepless, then my friend the brain doesn’t work at all, leave alone the logic of being a good protestor and a bad protestor. We can write all these comments from the comfort of our a/c’d rooms but we cannot feel what a lot of our countrymen are going through. I can’t forget a 27 year old guy with tears in his eyes saying that he has been fired from a workshop bcoz there is no power and they can’t pay him for no production. He said ‘Bhai meri zindagi ka payya jam ho gaya hay’ [my life's wheel has been jammed]. he hardly managed to feed his family that afternoon. So what do you think this guy will do? do you think he will put a black band on his arm and carry out a silent walk to protest or will he destroy anything and everything he sees linked to the responsibles for taking his bread away?
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@Truth_Prevails, I agree with most of the things you have mentioned. But my question is still the same. Will violence solve anything? Protesting peacefully and more importantly, starting a passive resistance is much more effective, since most of the world takes note of it.
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Burning your own home will yield nothing……it should be the homes of policy makers, politicians and our representatives
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