Powerless people

Across Lahore, and in other cities of Punjab, people have come out on the streets armed with sticks, stones, catapults and any weapon that they can find. The widespread protests on October 3, which continued late into the night on dark streets as people poured out of airless houses where there had been no power for hours — demonstrates the desperation of the people. In weather conditions that remain sultry, power has vanished for up to 16 hours a day in some localities. Outside the capital, in smaller towns, the situation is even worse. Both the Punjab chief minister, as well as his party’s chief and elder brother, have quickly blamed the federal government, going so far as to suggest that the loadshedding is being done “deliberately”. Nawaz Sharif said that were the present government free of corruption, there would be enough funds available for the circular debt to be paid off and the present power shortages could easily be eliminated. While Mr Sharif is essentially correct, he must not forget that allegations of corruption dogged his government as well and that it’s far easier to resort to name-calling and political point-scoring than to find actual solutions to the problem. The people in general do not care for such things and they are only interested in their misery being reduced. So all parties, the Punjab government, the PML-N as well as the federal government, need to devote their energies and resources to finding solutions that create tangible benefits for the people affected by the power outages, and in a reasonable timeframe. Also, the Punjab chief minister, who every now and then accuses the centre of treating Punjab like a “step brother”, should perhaps explain why police in Lahore, directly under the command of his provincial government, treated the protesters as worse even than chattel — using batons, tear gas and bullets.

Furthermore, Punjab should not feel that it is the only victim. Other provinces continue to suffer as badly as far as the power situation is concerned. The government needs to urgently come up with solutions that bridge the gap between power demand and supply at least in the medium-term but given that this is the same situation every summer since 2008, it seems to have ignored this very important issue altogether.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2011.