The promises politicians make with the people are inviolable and must be fulfilled. However in the case of Pakistan politicians are quick to make promises but they are seldom kept. Pakistan has been plagued by a sever energy crisis for the past many years, the 2013 election campaign was dominated by promises of ending the crisis. Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had made many promises to end the power crisis. From ending the power crisis in merely six months to claims of getting rid of load shedding problem within two years, the Punjab Chief Minister seemed to have a secret formula for ending the crisis. However these promises were never fulfilled and two and a half years on from the 2013 elections the power crisis is still there.
Government Ministers are continuously seen giving deadlines for ending the power crisis, Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif, State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Ishaq Dar and even the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif have all announced varying time frames for ending the crisis.
The case of the Nandipur power project is another good example of lofty promises; the Government faced tremendous embarrassment of how the project was inaugurated in hurry and its aftermath. When claims of ending the power crisis or other problems are made from someone who holds the portfolio of a Minister or Chief Minister there is added responsibility to fulfill the claim. All politicians, especially those from the ruling party who hold Government office must realize that lofty claims shouldn’t be made if there is little chance of fulfilling them.
Lofty promises are made to the public for merely media consumption when there’s little chance of fulfilling them.