Punjab’s ‘power move’ riles political spectrum

A POWER move by the PML-N government in Punjab, apparently aimed at securing its support base in the most populous province, has put an already-fragile alliance in the Centre, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to the test.

Besides the opposition PTI, the PPP and MQM-Pakistan — both of whom are PML-N’s partners in the federal government — have also questioned the rationale behind such a move, with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah calling the decision ‘foolish’ and saying it would aggravate the sense of deprivation in his province.

Before CM Murad, MQM’s Mustafa Kamal had demanded the premier announce a matching relief for the entire country. However, Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz hit back, saying the subsidy was funded by the provincial government and asked the Sindh government to provide relief in power bills instead of criticising her initiative.

But allies and foes alike believe that only some of the money will be paid by the Punjab government. They reason that since electricity is a federal subject, the Centre might be part of the arrangement announced by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif last week. According to PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, there needs to be clarity on who will actually foot the bill for this subsidy.

Expressing his doubts that the measure would be funded by the province alone, he said that if this were a Punjab-specific initiative, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz would have made this announcement instead of Nawaz Sharif.

Likewise, PTI leader Shaukat Basra has also called on PM Shehbaz Sharif to reduce electricity prices for the whole country, instead of allowing his elder brother to make such province-specific announcements. “Wapda is a federal entity, so how come Nawaz Sharif can announce a Rs14 per unit reduction only for the people of Punjab? What crime have the people of other provinces committed that they are not given this relief,” Mr Basra asked, rhetorically.

The prime minister, on the other hand, brushed aside the criticism on Tuesday, saying it was the Punjab government’s initiative and other provinces could follow suit. He clarified the federal government would not fund the initiative, as claimed by critics.

However, PPP’s Kaira said that while the PPP government in Sindh could go for such a step, the federal government had to address this issue as it came under its domain.

Interestingly, the Punjab finance minister was quoted as saying a few days ago that the actual cost of the subsidy was Rs90 billion, and about half of it would be funded by the federal government.

‘No surprises’

Political observers are not surprised by a Punjab-only subsidy. The elder Sharif’s announcement means that he has gone back to where he started from — Punjab — and believes that he can win its political support back by offering some relief to its financially struggling populace.

According to political commentator and journalist Badar Alam, the focus of his announcement being on Punjab is neither new, nor is it surprising, given that the elder Sharif cannot even imagine shoring up his declining political fortunes in other parts of Pakistan without first trying to do so in his home province.

“The amount is negligible and can provide temporary relief only for a couple of months. To put it in perspective, if we divide Rs45bn among the entire population of Punjab, it amounts to only Rs350 per person. That is too small a price tag for regaining the massive political support he has lost.”

Mr Alam is of the view that Sindh, unlike KP and Balochistan, has the financial ability to match this announcement, but the ruling party there is severely constrained by other factors.

Firstly, the single largest block of power consumers in the province i.e. Karachi, are served by a private power company that is regulated by the central government and the remaining electricity consumers are facing another and bigger problem: loadshedding for almost half a day throughout the year.

Economist Khalid Mahmood Rasool termed the Rs14 per unit relief an “unsustainable game of optics”. “It is only a case of political manoeuvring, ad-hocism and narrative management at the cost of exchequer but not a long-term solution,” Mr Rasool said, asking the government to focus on curtailing its expenditure instead of squeezing development funds for political gains.

Recalling previous short-term measures like Ramazan Bazaars and wheat flour schemes, Mr Rasool said this initiative would fail to bring any sustainable change in the lives of the people who are already overburdened by unbridled inflation.

According to Mr Alam: “With his experience and stature, Nawaz Sharif should have tried to measure up to his image as the senior-most political leader in the country and taken equally helpful steps for people living in every part of Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2024