Myriads of problems the PML-N is facing
The PML-N had made the provision of electricity an election promise in 2013. After Shahbaz Sharif made himself a butt of jokes by promising to end power shortages within no time once the PML-N was in power, party leaders became cautious of giving a firm date for the end of load shedding. Khawaja Asif now talks about achieving the goal in 2017. Ishaq Dar has been more specific: he says power shortages would end by March 2018.
The claims are based on a single factor i.e., the timely implementation of the CPEC. Power generation projects with a capacity to produce 8,320MW have no doubt been signed between Pakistan and China with $38 billion investment pledged by Beijing. The Chinese have a reputation for completing the projects on time in their own country. Two factors, one political the other bureaucratic, can however act as hurdles in Pakistan. On Tuesday, the entire Opposition walked out of the Senate complaining that the government was changing the CPEC route in violation of the agreement brokered in the APC in May. There are also rivalries between ministers vis-a-vis jurisdiction over CPEC projects. There are also reports of bureaucracy creating hurdles to get kickbacks. Will the PML-N leadership be able to overcome these hurdles by the cut-off date?
Facts go against Ishaq Dar’s claim that there is considerable improvement in education sector. Pakistan has missed the UN target of raising the literacy rate to 58 percent. Due to subpar performance by Balochistan and Sindh, nationwide literacy rate slipped in 2013-14 by 2 percent. The target of spending 4 percent on education set in 1992 has taken the country no farther than 2.5 in 2013-2014. At the Oslo Conference on Education and Development early this year, Nawaz Sharif vowed to achieve the target in 2018, the same year the load shedding is supposed to end. Law and order has of course improved, mainly due to the military operation but unless the NAP is fully implemented, peace will continue to hang by a thread.
