‘Pakistan’s energy crisis is rooted in policy failures’

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) In a world driven by technology, energy plays a dominant role, and most countries have evolved special mechanisms to ensure affordable and sustainable resources, but Pakistan is facing an energy crisis due to policy failures, according to an article in the Pakistani media.

Pakistan was earlier an energy surplus nation due to the discovery of large Sui gas reserves in Balochistan province, but around 2002, shortages started to appear due to misuse and mismanagement and the gift of nature was consumed much ahead of its time, according to an article in the Karachi-based Business Recorder.

No serious work was carried out on other deposits and alternative fuel options. Coal that had fuelled the entire industrial revolution in the West was totally ignored, states the article by Dr Farid A Malik, an ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation

In the USA, after the oil embargo of the seventies, the then President Jimmy Carter promised his nation that the country would never face a fuel crisis again. A Department of Energy was created that started research on all possible energy options. Currently, shale gas is being used as an affordable source of energy. India has recently announced a massive programme based on gasification of their coal deposits, the article further states.

“Meanwhile, industries in Pakistan have become non-competitive due to high fuel costs. The hydel projects have not come online. Potential of Thar Coal is not being fully exploited. New gas discoveries have not been commissioned. The shale gas option has not been taken seriously. Sui gas was a gift of nature in the year 1952 and so is the Thar Coal in our times. In such circumstances, I am reminded of the words of the famous poet, Munir Niazi, who talked about the magical spell (‘Asaib Ka Saya’) on the nation that keeps holding us back. Some soul searching is required before it is too late,” Dr Malik lamented in the article.

Despite resources and potential, the crisis persists mainly because of a lack of direction and gross mismanagement in Pakistan. The circular debts keep spiralling up, the article added.

–IANS

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