The Ministry of Water and Power refused to accept ownership of coal power policy during a meeting of the relevant Senate Standing Committee. Sohail Akbar Shah, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Water and Power, categorically stated that "coal power policy was approved by the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet. Water and Power Ministry is not responsible." He failed to mention that according to the rules of business the draft coal policy would have been moved by his Ministry for ECC approval.
In addition, Shah's statement inexplicably disclaims responsibility by the Water and Power Ministry of any input in decisions taken by the ECC - the highest economic decision-making body in the country, of which the Minister for Water and Power is a member, especially on matters concerning his ministry, while the chairmanship of the committee resides in the Federal Finance Minister. This statement by a senior bureaucrat therefore clearly indicates that there is infighting between ministries. So who bears the blame for such bickering? While PML-N supporters would no doubt deny that there is any rancour or spite with the more realistic party members blaming it on individual personalities yet one cannot absolve the Prime Minister of responsibility for fuelling infighting by tacitly following a 'divide and rule' policy. It is therefore relevant to note that the Prime Minister set up a special committee on energy headed by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar with his brother and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif - a visibly important member of the committee. Khwaja Asif, the Minister for Water and Power, was and has since been delegated a tertiary role in affairs of his ministry.
Political pundits, however, plausibly argue that such a statement by a bureaucrat is a reflection of two disturbing trends. First, that the bureaucracy, which is known for keeping an ear to the ground, is responding to rumblings of possible change given the rising incidents of internecine conflict within the PML-N cabinet on how to meet serious challenges ranging from an ongoing power crisis to the political impasse by the continued Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek dharnas in Islamabad. Additionally, growing public support for the PTI's 'go Nawaz go' slogan due to serious mistakes by the government including massive over-billing by power companies for July and August and refusal to adjust flawed macroeconomic policies by citing unrealistic figures is visibly angering the public. Refusal to acknowledge these flaws in policy are simply swelling the numbers of anti-PML-N rallies. The recent statement by Shahbaz Sharif followed by a tweet by Maryam Nawaz in support of physical abuse of PTI youth by PML-N supporters epitomizes PML-N's refusal to see the writing on the wall and revisit/readjust its stance to resolve the crisis, which is increasingly becoming untenable.
And secondly and equally importantly for the bureaucracy, the PML-N has recently not taken responsibility for its orders particularly those relating to the unfortunate death of 14 PAT supporters in Lahore on 17th June. This led to the Islamabad police chiefs not taking action unless they received written orders, with all three preferring to resign instead. And Shah's statement to the parliamentary standing committee is an extension of the same concern: namely to deny involvement in a policy that may be challenged in time. The coal policy that has been approved, fails to take account of three major concerns:
(i) setting up a coal plant away from the port is an extremely expensive prospect in terms of transport, (ii) the generated electricity would have to be connected to the national grid and (iii) constructing a coal dedicated jetty would create considerable health problems.
To conclude one would strongly urge the Prime Minister to independently re-evaluate and reassess his government's performance and rely on some independent supporters for undertaking this exercise rather than those who have been holding portfolios for the past 15 months.