Prime Minister Imran Khan has rightly described the power sector as the one that gives him most headaches and keeps him sleepless. In other words, he has described this sector as his government Achilles heel. The countrywide blackout on Saturday night which ostensibly took place owing to a major technical fault constitutes another stigma for the reputation of a sector that has so far devoured hundreds of billions of rupees without showing any signs of improvement. It is often argued that the incumbent government’s worry is well founded because, as argued in one of this newspaper’s op-eds, “the availability and affordability of electricity in the country is a make or break for our industry, trade, exports, agriculture and competitiveness in the domestic and international markets. It also impacts on performance indicators that influence country’s economy, employment, inflation, poverty alleviation and social aspects at all tiers of society.”

The latest power breakdown must serve a lesson to this government which still seems to be learning the ropes.

Naheed Rahman (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021