In Pakistan, soaring electricity rates amid high inflation could topple an unsteady government

Inflated electricity bills in the country have triggered an eruption of public indignation that had been simmering for long. Discontent over the escalating cost of living has now exploded into mass protests. The unbearable hike in electricity rates seems to be the proverbial last straw.

Angry protesters are now out on the streets, threatening to bring down the edifice of the state. It is now left to a hybridised interim administration to face the public’s wrath. Stuck between the International Monetary Fund’s deal and growing unrest in the country, the options for the caretaker set-up are limited. The crisis over excessively priced electricity indicates a structural problem that has been aggravated by flawed policies pursued by successive governments over the past several decades.

A patch-up job will not help resolve a chronic problem that requires massive systemic reforms. And that is beyond the capacity of a short-term interim arrangement led by a novice who has apparently been imposed by the security establishment. The multiple taxes and surcharges included in the electricity bills are nothing less than extortion by a state unable to collect taxes from the politically powerful landed and business classes. The burden has shifted to the already overtaxed middle and lower middle classes.

What has made the situation...

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