Pakistan PM powerless unless he pays up?

Outstanding is an adjective that usually invokes pride — except when appended to the word ‘bill’. Government departments in most countries do not usually find themselves bestowed with the word ‘outstanding’ when it comes to work, but quite a few are routinely handed notices for unpaid bills. Pakistan’s prime ministers are so used to jibes about being ‘powerless’ that the current incumbent Imran Khan and his team must be shocked that a recent notice is only about the imminent cutting of electricity supply to the office due to non-payment rather than an intimation of the more common manifestation of power being curtailed there.

It may be recalled that thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members and supporters led by Khan had publicly burned electricity bills in 2014 to protest against the then-Nawaz Sharif government. Three months ago, Pakistan’s cabinet had approved austerity measures that included cutting all unnecessary government expenditure such as buying new cars and air conditioners. It is unlikely, however, that holding back payment of utility bills for such a high-powered venue as the Pakistan PM’s office was part of that to-do list. The current failure to pay the outstanding bill of Rs 41 lakh now that a PTI government is in power, could be thus ascribed to transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.