Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers are in a fix like situation, as they can neither defend nor offend their government on the burgeoning issue of load shedding, exposing them to financial oppose adversities fast with every passing day.
Interestingly, the PPP workers, particularly the traders' wings of the party, have been denying strike calls in different parts of the province simply to appease their party leadership, having been extending false promises of overcoming the load shedding phenomenon by December 2009.
It may be noted that a large number of labour force stranded due to heavy closure of powerlooms in Faisalabad region but they are being pushed by their respective MNAs and MPAs to avoid the protest calls in the larger party interest.
So much so, the federal textile minister has taken a highly irrational decision of imposing quota on exports of cotton yarn, a sheer negation to the principle of free market mechanism, to avert pressure from workers to come out on streets against load shedding. PPP leadership in the Southern Punjab has been criticising the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif for sponsoring the strikes there by the citizen against the unprecedented load shedding. Similar objections were raised about a year earlier when the power looms workers had organised violent protest in Faisalabad and the PPP had criticised the PML-N local leadership for their role behind the protest.
The PPP workers, on the other hand, have shared with Business Recorder that they were highly offended with the situation, as the ongoing heavy spell of load shedding has resulted into heavy closure of industry across the province, directly affecting their bread and butter.
They told that the local leadership of their respective areas was pursuing them to avoid becoming part of public protests but they are not clear when the country would be out of load shedding phenomenon. The party workers believed that they would not be in a position to stay away from the protests in their respective areas and circles, as according to them, the government performance on this front was highly shameful and it was not easy for them to defend it in their circles anymore.