(August-27-2023) Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) said on Sunday that people across the country are protesting and committing suicides as a result of excessive electricity costs, which are pushing the country into chaos.
The country is plunging into lawlessness and chaos as elites have turned an affluent country into a living nightmare for its citizens, he said.
After the political and economic collapse, the power bills have become a nightmare for the masses; their household budgets have been destroyed, and their lives have become miserable, he added.
In a statement issued here today, Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that fights are taking place in the streets and in houses, violence has become the norm, and divorces are taking place due to the inflated electricity bills.
People have been forced to take out loans, sell jewellery and other essential items to pay the bills, and compromise on food, health, and education.
In various parts of the country, announcements are being made from mosques asking people not to pay electricity bills; traders are not allowing WAPDA officials to enter the markets; strikes, roadblocks, and attacks on WAPDA officials have become routine in many places, which is a perfect recipe for a civil war, he observed.
He said that the security of the power officials, offices, and grid stations is facing severe threats, and if the situation is not controlled, a civil war may also break out across the country.
Dr Mughal said that while the cost of electricity is killing people, it is also destroying businesses. The country’s elite and WAPDA officers have become white-collar criminals who only care about their own interests and have no interest in resolving the problems of the people.
Elites are still getting free electricity and benefits worth billions of rupees, and their looting has turned a prosperous country into a hell for the people.
He said that if immediate measures are not taken to provide relief to the people, there will be uncontrollable lawlessness and anarchy in the country, which will wash away everything.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW)
