AS the nation braces for another wave of fuel price hikes triggered by geopolitical turmoil, a harsh reality is settling in: Pakistan is consuming petrol and diesel at a rate it simply cannot afford.

While the government has resorted to what appear to be decisive measures, reducing working days in the week, closing schools and lowering speed limits on motorways. A closer look reveals that these actions may be more symbolic than strategic. The question we must ask is whether these decisions were based on rigorous statistical data and analysis, or whether they were whimsical, knee-jerk responses, copying some others countries model, designed to create an illusion of action. Without granular data on how much fuel was actually saved by shutting a school for one day versus the economic and educational cost incurred, we cannot judge their effectiveness. What we can judge is the pattern: a government that consistently opts for blunt, visibility-driven measures that burdens the masses rather than targeting the real, egregious sources of waste.

The real waste does not lie in a family driving a 1300cc sedan to work or a shopkeeper using a motorcycle for delivery. The real waste sits in the convoys, the protocols, the official vehicles and the unaccounted free fuel flowing to the elite. If Pakistan is sincere about energy conservation, we must........

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