It seems that President Zardari has finally had enough about the power shortage in the country. He has decided to get directly involved in the struggle to have the crisis of power cuts and load-shedding (load means electric load on the grids and shedding means of course to lessen the burden on the system that provides electricity) under control.
The government has tried everything so far, but the demand for electricity has grown faster then anyone could have imagined or expected. Now it is time to really think outside the box, and the federal government has decided to tackle this issue once and for all. That is the good news. The bad news is that nothing will yield results any time soon because electricity generation and distribution is no simple task. It is even harder in Pakistan, given Pakistan’s old and unreliable distribution network. Nonetheless, it is good news that Islamabad has decided to put everything to work to solve the problem of electricity shortage and sooner or later, the country will see the fruits of this intense effort that has been started by Zardari.
This is a good start, but what I would like to see is everyone in the country, especially the media, playing a constructive role in educating people about the actual problem, the efforts that are under way to find a permanent and long term solution and most importantly the need to be patient while the government is working to come up with a solution to this problem. Electronic media especially has to resist the temptation to milk this crisis for ratings because this shortage is hurting everyone and it is a national issue. So far, electronic media has not done anything to honestly and objectively discuss this issue so that people don’t become hostile towards those who are working to help them.
Given Pakistan’s overall situation, anything can trigger a crisis and the country cannot afford to have hysterical mobs on the roads looting, burning and agitating when Islamabad is engaged in a life and death struggle against the Taliban. What Pakistan needs today is stability so that the threat of terrorism can be defeated and this is no time for political point scoring or settling old disputes. Zardari and Gillani are fighting too many fights that they did not start but were forced on them. All segments of society should play their role in stabilizing Pakistan, at least for three or fours years, so that the country is back on track towards stability. Right now, Pakistan is bracketed by failed states, and if every Pakistani is not committed to doing what is in the best interest of Pakistan, all of us are going to regret our inaction in the future.
Bilal Qureshi
Washington, DC
