There have been widespread protests against electricity bills. The latest bills reflect the recent rise in tariffs, as well as increases in various other charges which have beenn added to the bills. Were large protesters in Karachi and Rawalpindi, and while electricity bills were burnt in Muzaffarabad in AJK, there were protests in Lahore, Attock, Peshawar, Quetta, Taunsa, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan as well. Perhaps particularly worrying for the government is the fact that there is no single organization, let alone any political party behind the protests.
First of all, it means there is no one to talk to. Also, it means that the protesters cannot really be given concessions that might bring the protests to an end. So far, the situation has not reached the point it did during the Arab Spring protests, where protests which started in Tunisia over a street vendor’s death ended in the toppling of several governments It should not be forgotten that while the power tariff hikes are themselves the cause of much pain for consumers, they are not the sole inflationary pressure faced by the consumer. The fuel price hikes and rupee devaluation are also important pressures.
Part of the public’s ire stems from the lack of communication between government and public. The present caretakers have come to stabilize the economy. Which means doing everything the IMF says. The caretakers might not only be non-elected, but intend to stray longer than their constitutionally stipulated time limit, but they cannot survive without obtaining pub;ic consent, if not approval. After all, at the end of the day, they do not face an election. The caretaker government needs to take the public into confidence, and give some sort of timeline, along with d up atreasonable precise quantities, such as where it intends the dollar parity of the rupee to en. That might not prevent people from protesting, but it should take the edge off the protests. The government must not wait for protests to grow, and must avoid the sort of clash with the public that it avoided on May 9. It should not be forgotten that there have been protests when LESCO and K-Electric offices have been razed. The government must avoid such a situation.
