The problem with fatalism

Nawaz Sharif had just one thing to do. No one expected him to be able to defeat militancy, both because the problem is too large to be successfully tackled in a few years and since such matters tend not to be in the domain of the civilians.
Nawaz rode into power promising to do something about the power crisis. And he has. Somehow the government that sold itself as practical, hard-headed, business-minded people who can make the difficult decisions managed to make everything much worse. For the first time in our recent history the power crisis is no longer just about electricity or gas; we have managed to add petrol to the list.
The savvy capitalists of the PML-N government turned out to be no smarter than their supposedly weak predecessors. Coming into power, the government knew circular debt was a major issue and as long as it persisted there would be no solving the power crisis. Here’s what they did: they paid off the circular debt. That would have been fine – even laudable – if it had been accompanied by a plan to prevent the circular debt from arising again. Instead they kicked the can down the road and now we have no electricity, gas or petrol.
During a recent trip to Lahore I realised the entire country is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. The house I was staying at had no gas and every day we would dutifully troop to the locker room of a gymnasium to shower. Electricity would pop in every now and then for a cameo appearance.
Then the petrol disappeared. To get from Lahore to Islamabad on the motorway became a 10-hour ordeal where petrol pumps would only provide enough fuel to reach the next petrol pump and so on. What was scarcely believable about this situation was the fact that everyone adapted to it, changed their lifestyles and acted as if it were normal. We kid ourselves into thinking we are resilient when really we have just given up and resigned ourselves to our fates.
The problem with such fatalism is that it encourages the government to believe it can get away with anything and, rather than scream and shout, we will just play along. It is that attitude which leads to people like Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with conflicts of interest, being made petroleum minister. It is that attitude which lets him blame fuel shortages on increased demand, as if our fuel gauges can go to a point beyond full when the international price of oil drops. It lets him blame the media for creating a panic when we should be terrified at how the government is unable to provide us with basic amenities.
It is true that a panic was created without reason in Karachi, which had enough fuel. But it was stoked by politicians who claimed Karachi’s fuel was being diverted by Punjab. And can anyone doubt that we have more than sufficient reason to panic?
Panic can be a healthy emotion that tells us it is time to do something. PSO should have felt panic months ago when it realised its credit line was about to be cut off. Instead it is either still in denial or lying to us. Demand for petrol increased by about six percent after prices were brought down. Such a spike in demand cannot cause our pumps to run dry.
Even worse was the lie about the shortage being temporary and caused by the unexpected closure of a refinery. Yes, a refinery did shut down but it was operational days before the shortages hit and unless we are now transporting oil on the backs of tortoises that cannot be used as an excuse.
Here’s the problem in a nutshell: the government has done nothing to improve its bill collection or stop electricity line losses or make people pay their taxes. It is broke. PSO cannot get the money it is owed and so borrows from others. It is also broke. So the circle remains unbroken until they get their act together. That they haven’t needed to do yet because we haven’t demanded it of them.
We as a nation adapted to having constant electricity shortages. Those who could afford it bought generators and UPSs. Others stewed in the heat. At least we had plenty of gas, so much so that we ended up having more CNG-equipped vehicles than any other country in the world.
Then one fine day we were told that the gas will run out much sooner than expected. So we adapted again, accepting that one of industry, domestic consumers and CNG vehicles could have gas but not all three. Regular petrol shortages should be the final straw. Its either that or waiting for global warming to destroy the planet which we can then rule as the only nation around that has learned to live without power.
The writer is a journalist based in Karachi. Email: nadir.hassan@gmail.com