On deaths from electrocution
Ordinarily a prime minister taking personal notice of two unnecessary deaths from electrocution – when electric lines fell into water ponds during rain in Lahore recently – would rightly deserve praise. But the public, or at least sections of it, should be forgiven for taking such acts of dispensing justice with a pinch of salt if they are random and unpredictable, to say the least. PML-N doesn’t necessarily stand out in matters of ensuring justice, after all, especially as long as the memory of the model town massacre – under the PM’s younger brother’s watch – refuses to fade.
Perhaps it would have been better if the PM had opted out of the optics for this one, and let the Punjab CM, or the water and power minister, ensure justice in this case. And, if the PM was really so touched by the easily avoidable tragedy, he should have ordered steps to ensure such episodes are never repeated. But the manner of political will required to restructure and reconfigure organisations like Wapda is another story altogether. Lately, governments don’t even talk about such initiatives anymore. Now, the two people mentioned in the report, which the PM accepted, shall be dealt with sternly (they have already been relieved of their duties), yet the system will remain as it is; perhaps giving the PM opportunities to ensure similar justice in future.
If the prime minister is bent upon being a man of action, he is advised to move a little more quickly, and sharply, on matters that urgently require his attention. The Panama matter, for one thing, which is lingering only because of the government’s indecision. All other countries have dealt with the Leaks and moved on, yet we are still stuck in it. Then there’s the foreign front, where Pakistan is more isolated by the day. If the PM gave these matters as much attention as those that make immediate news, there would be fewer problems for him to solve.
