A load unbearable

In a recent article in The Washington Post, the energy crisis in Pakistan was said to be more dangerous to Pakistan than terrorism. Not to belittle the havoc terrorism has wreaked on our social fabric, in absolute terms of numbers, this just actually might be true. Right now, the energy crisis has not just angered the populace but it has virtually brought all economic activity to a standstill. Many industries have shifted base to nearer and cheaper areas such as India, China, and notably, Bangladesh. Apart from that, small businesses, be they retail or anything else, have been suffering quite a lot due to constant outages. Moreover, demonstrations by the angry public have led to losses worth millions of rupees.
Thus, as terrorism halted our economy, paralysed daily life and infuriated the masses, loadshedding and the energy crisis have also managed to tick all those boxes. We may have put a number on the estimated losses the Pakistani economy has seen due to this energy crisis. But maybe that figure should also include the psychological damage inflicted on our individual and collective psyche.
AHSAN MALIK
Lahore