Pakistan's Power and Food Crisis

All the more reason for Musharaff to be letting off "suicide" car or other types of bombs in his country:

"Shortages of energy, food worry Pakistanis"

".... With consumer prices for basic goods hitting new highs in Pakistan, anxieties about the country's economy are also on the rise. After seeing five years of strong gains under the government of President Pervez Musharraf, officials are scaling back expectations for growth in the face of wrenching food and energy shortages....

Sakib Sherani, chief economist for ABN Amro Bank Pakistan, blames years of "bad administration and bad governance" for the situation. He said overblown government projections of a bumper wheat crop are just one example of the Musharraf government's missteps. Smugglers are increasingly taking wheat from Pakistan to Afghanistan, where it is in even shorter supply ....

Salman Shah, Pakistan's finance minister in the caretaker government, acknowledged that wheat smuggling and skyrocketing consumer prices have become serious problems. But he blamed increases in global prices for food and oil for much of the crisis. He pointed to strong gains on the Karachi stock market, the country's largest, as a sign that the postelection economy is as viable as ever....

We are all fucked!!!

Pakistan's economic recovery efforts could be further complicated in the long term by widespread energy shortages, according to some analysts. Blackouts occur several times a day even in some of the most affluent areas of major cities.

Earlier this month, more than 15 million people were plunged into darkness for hours in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and its main commercial hub. The blackout was caused by a dispute between the private electric utility and the government-owned utility administration over payments."