So what else is new?
It is not just that the PM and his team did not, or could not, keep his promise of uninterrupted electricity supply at sehr and iftar times during Rmazan, it’s that outages in the holy month have far exceeded pre-Ramazan blackouts, practically all across the country. And to have the usually verbose Abid Sher Ali trying to wriggle his way out as usual, always blaming someone or something other than relevant government offices, also did not work this time. Indeed, going by rumours, even the junior minister seems to have realised that roads and bridges are good things, but perhaps should be demoted a little on the priority list in favour of power supply, something still lost on the ruling Sharifs.
Also, while the press is abuzz about the government facing uncertainties just after one year in office, most commentators fail to notice that it is largely because of the N-league’s own actions; its problems are mostly self-created. From the Model Town tragedy to letting PTI’s rigging accusation snowball, it has handled situations as if we were still in the ‘90s. Electricity, too, figured high on the N-group’s election agenda slightly more than a year ago. That was when Shahbaz Sharif promised ending the power problem in a matter of months. But it wasn’t long before Sharif Sr came to the rescue, not realising that attributing junior’s election promises to campaign compulsions that did not translate into reality actually amounted to insulting people who believed in and voted for them.
And the same mindset continues when the government is confronted with its own failings. Upon hearing of people’s troubles during the fasting month, of hour upon hour without power across much of the country, the PM’s only action has been to demand a detailed report. To save Nawaz Sharif’s time, ministers concerned should simply tell him that the situation is beyond control, and empty slogans and false promises may have won him the premiership, but it will take serious effort and an element of truth to serve the people as required in a democratic setup. If they can’t shape up, they will have to ship out.