The Pakistan government is responsible for Pakistan’s energy crisis as it implements capitalism.

The capitalist system ensures that through privatisation, a few private owners fully benefit from electricity resources while the public suffers.

In Pakistan today, a few rich, powerful families and foreign investors have invested in power plants known as Independent Power Producers – or IPPs.

Privatisation raises electricity prices so that private owners can profit in their business.

In Pakistan, these businessmen have been guaranteed returns on their investment through sovereign government guarantees to pay for their exorbitantly priced electricity.

These IPP’s are free to import expensive coal to fire their power plants, thus adding to the balance of payments deficit crisis and distorting the energy mix.

This has all been permitted by successive democratic and military rulers in Pakistan, who have passed laws to allow this under pressure from the IMF & World Bank to privatise state assets.

The IMF and World Bank have closely overseen the rises in electricity charges, by demanding the end of electricity and gas subsidies.

‘Circular debt’, corruption, debt repayments to colonial institutions and being held hostage to vested interests have compounded the energy crisis in Pakistan.

The total installed capacity of electricity in Pakistan is 19.855 MW dropping to 15.150 MW at times of low river flow.

This is against a demand that varies between 11.500 MW in cooler months and 17.500 MW during the peak of the sizzling summer.

Despite the claims of the government in 2013 that it will end the energy crisis, it persists in many parts of Pakistan to this day.

The Karachi electric crisis is a case in point – with up to 18 hours of load shedding in a day.

The new ‘Mega Watts’ added to the national grid have done nothing to alleviate the suffering of the people.

It is only the Khilafah as a political alternative that can end the energy crisis in Pakistan.

Resources such as oil, gas, and coal are publicly owned and not in the hands of a few private owners.

The Khilafah state administers these resources in the interests of the people.

The Khilafah will abolish all taxes upon power and fuel, which have currently inflated prices.

It will charge only to cover production and distribution costs.

Electricity supply will be a service provided by the Khilafah State and not a profit-making
business like in Pakistan today.

The Khilafah’s electricity policy will contribute to massive industrialisation by providing cheap energy.

Its time to uproot the corrupt capitalist system and to re-establish the Khilafah state to look after the affairs of the people.