A sorry sight

The fuel crisis took a nightmarish turn as rumours of a shortage in Karachi, not helped by unfounded claims that petrol was being diverted to Punjab, led to panic buying. Karachi, as the main sea port, had been spared from the shortages so far but the government has been so inept in trying to deflect blame away from itself that it is easy to understand why people would be worried. Nawaz Sharif’s response to the crisis was to suspend four bureaucrats and set up a two-member team to investigate the problem. In its initial report it ended up only agreeing with the prime minister and adding the name of the deputy managing director of PSO to the list of officials who should be suspended. The report also placed the blame solely at the feet of Ogra which, as the regulator, certainly bears a portion of responsibility for the situation. There too the government is as fault since it has allowed such an important regulator to work without a permanent head. As with many other government institutions, it has been rendered leaderless and ineffective by the PML-N, which has been warned by the Supreme Court and others how its lethargy is affecting governance. But there are many other actors who need to be held accountable starting with PSO, which has continually defaulted on payments but claims the circular debt issue did not play a role in the crisis. Other factors, such as increased demand, may have made the situation slightly worse but the shortages are mostly due to the financial catastrophe in which PSO finds itself. But PSO has said the fault lies with other oil-marketing companies, which collectively control more than 50 per cent of the market, for not anticipating the surge in demand. This explanation will only be swallowed by those gullible enough to believe demand has increased so astronomically that it has left all our pumps dry.
Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been no better. He claimed to take responsibility at a news conference but is now back to

saving his own skin. According to Abbasi, the shortages are entirely due to an increase in demand and the unexpected closure of a refinery. But the refinery was shut only for four days and has been working at capacity while shortages persisted in Punjab. Clearly that is not a reason for the present crisis. Similarly, while it is true that lower fuel prices increased demand, it does not account for the entirety of the yawning gap between current demand and the almost non-existent supply. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has been even worse. He not only said he had nothing to do with the problem, he tried to blame it on a conspiracy against the government. Instead of admitting it never got a handle on the power situation and that the circular debt has mounted during its reign, the government is busy making excuses for its own incompetence. This is not a good sight.