Pakistan, April 13 -- The government says it has no choice. Last week, standing in the National Assembly, Khawaja Asif argued that Pakistan's power sector is bound by legacy contracts and rising capacity payments, defending the revised solar policy and claiming little room to manoeuvre. He further said that the state had to balance the interests of solar users with those still tied to conventional supply, even as criticism grew over new taxes and rising electricity costs.

The circular debt has crossed Rs2.3 trillion, and a large share of the power purchase price is now locked into fixed obligations that must be paid regardless of consumption.

What is now being proposed goes further. It targets the one energy shift ordinary Pakistanis bu...