'Electric shock': Pakistan plunges into crisis again as thousands refuse to pay high electricity bills; protests erupt in Peshawar, Rawalpindi

Pakistan is once again heading towards a serious crisis as thousands of people have taken to the streets against high power tariffs. Massive protests have erupted in the cash-strapped country as people have expressed inability to pay their electricity bills due to recent back-to-back hikes that were done to secure a bail-out package from the global lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Pakisan's interim Prime Minister Anwaar Kakar held an emergency meeting on Sunday but no decision could be taken on moves to provide relief to consumers. Information Minister Murtaza Solangi told Dawn News that the meeting on power would continue on Monday and some relief would be given to electricity consumers.

Solangi said the government had very limited space between the primary surplus and the current account deficit to give relief to people. "But we have to do something in this regard." He further said the interim prime minister was considering several options to mitigate the sufferings of power consumers but he could not share details.

In Pakistan, people are paying up to Rs 42 per unit after a series of hikes in the past few months by the Shehbaz Sharif government as part of conditions laid down by the IMF.

Dawn reported that in Peshawar, citizens blocked roads and highways, and said electricity had become too expensive even though they were suffering hours-long load-shedding. 

The protesters also burned tyres and chanted slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). "The increase in electricity prices has broken the backs of the poor. The people cannot afford more taxes,” one of the protestors said.

In Rawalpindi, protesters burned their bills and chanted slogans against the government as people surrounded a grid station. They also held demonstrations outside the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) offices.

The interim prime minister was on Sunday told that electricity worth Rs 1 billion was provided free of cost to Wapda/Discos employees whereas a common citizen was paying up to Rs 42 per unit. 

The prime minister said that he wouldn't take any step in haste that would harm the country. "We will take measures that will not further burden the national exchequer and will facilitate the consumers."

A social media user said that the government had sent an electric shock to all Pakistanis by levying heavy taxes on electricity bills.

Another social media user shared a video of a man who was crying as he received a bill of Rs 26,000. "Never received such bill in entire life, it should come down," he said.

Shahbaz Rana, a journalist, said that PM Kakar would again try to find a solution to back-breaking electricity bills. But, he said, the solution is not any subsidy or installments of bills. Rana said the solution is very simple but difficult to implement. He asked the government to stop passing on Rs 464 billion cost of theft, and losses, and stop cross-subsidising other domestic consumers to bill-paying consumers.

Rana also said that the state cannot pass on its social welfare responsibility to consumers. "Stop recovery of Rs 3.21/ unit interest cost from bill-paying consumers. 4, End uniform tariff regime that promotes and protects theft and inefficiency. That's what interim Govt can do."

Quatrina, another journalist, said: "The solution is indeed simple. The interim government does not have to please powerful lobbies/mafias. Cut off power to those not paying bills for the past decade. And throw them in jail. Certain areas of Pakistan have less than 20 percent recovery of charges."

Rubeena Khan, a social media user, said protests against soaring power prices continued in Pakistan for a third consecutive day on Sunday, with television footage showing enraged consumers at rallies burning their electricity bills.

One Hamid Ullah Wazir shared a tweet by a journalist, where a cop can seen complaining to Allama Iqbal that they do not need such a Pakistan, where they could not even pay their power bills.