Food, water, taxes, now electricity – no relief for the common man

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

These are the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. These words, while penned in a different context, resonate with a certain familiarity when delving into the current state of Pakistan. While drawing direct parallels between the hitherto French society and today’s Pakistan can be a complex endeavour, it is hard to overlook the stark dichotomies affecting both societies at different periods of time.

Present-day Pakistan stands at a crossroads, grappling with a number of issues of grave concern, which are reminiscent of the prelude to the French Revolution. Energy crises, economic downturns, political instability, and religious intolerance cast an intricate web which is severely affecting the lower strata of the society.

The recent incident of the horrifyingly high electricity bills appears to be breaking the backs of the downtrodden in the country. Much like the Third Estate of pre-revolutionary France, the common people of Pakistan find themselves under the burden of the financial crises, which lie largely beyond their control. People took to the streets to protest against the unjustifiable hike in energy prices, and some even resorted to burning their bills.

Amidst the backdrop of soaring bills and the resultant eruption of protests, the caretaker government with the federal cabinet decided to provide “relief” to the people. For this purpose, an emergency meeting was called where the Ministry of Energy presented different proposals before the federal cabinet. The considerations included the option to pay bills in more than two instalments, reducing the tax on the bills, and potentially removing free-electricity privileges for the members of the power sector and government officers.

Nevertheless, the meeting did not yield the desired results, and the government averred that it could not actualise these proposals before seeking the approval of the International Monetary Fund. It is noteworthy to mention that one of the primary reasons for high electricity bills is the government’s high taxation policy. This fact highlights that the lower and middle socio-economic classes bear the brunt of these poor policies more than any other segment of society, a point that cannot be underemphasised.

In a nation where economic disparities are glaring, with the privileged maintaining their status and the marginalised struggling to put food on the table and survive, such disproportionate taxation strikes a dissonant chord. The erstwhile federal government allocated a hefty budget for the parliament members, while basic needs like affordable electricity elude the masses. This is just one of the instances of how the men in power further their nests at the expense of common people in this country. This aggravates socio-economic inequalities, and the lower segments of society are further driven into the corner to atone for the events leading to the deficit.

Over and above, Pakistan satisfies over a third of its annual electricity requirements by using imported natural gas. Global crisis, for instance, the Russia-Ukraine war, led to a hike in the prices. It became really challenging for Pakistan because of the country’s already staggering economy. At the beginning of 2023, the government implemented different measures to conserve energy, resulting in long bouts of power cuts. Despite these nuisances, the governments in Pakistan seem unable to fix the priorities of the nation.

To extenuate the scourge of economic crisis, Pakistan will have to take long-term, sagacious policy measures. Regarding the power generation debacle, the World Bank suggests that Pakistan has great potential to generate wind and solar energy. In its report, the World Bank mentioned that the utilisation of merely 0.071% of the country’s land for solar energy generation could meet the electricity demands. Investment in renewable sources of energy can help to make power affordable for the citizens in addition to achieving the goal of energy security. The matter boils down to setting the priorities straight.

Due to the highly uncertain politico-economic milieu, Pakistan has already witnessed gruesome incidents in the ongoing year. The skyrocketing pace of inflation, along with the increasing rate of unemployment and other maladies, seem to weigh on the collective conscience of the masses. Needless to say, other factors are also important in giving rise to these harrowing incidents, but the economic burdens seem to be taking the lead in generating such a scenario.