OVER the last few days, bone-chilling winter has set in rather belatedly in most parts of the country, especially the northern areas. It is quite surprising that even when the temperatures have gone down so drastically, our area is subjected to electricity loadshedding for extended periods lasting several hours. While the logic is beyond comprehension, the freelancers are more worried about the practical aspect of it rather than the logic. They are expected to deliver on time, but remain at the mercy of those who are supposed to keep the power supply going. For the freelancers, life is a battle against time and circumstances that they are losing for no fault of their own.

In fact, global freelancing has critical dimensions. There are clients who understand the freelancers’ plight, but then there are many more who demand nothing but punctuality and adherence to deadlines. While their expectations and demands are understandable, they only add an extra layer of pressure to an already stressful situation.

In such a scenario, the clients cannot be faulted for demanding deadline adherence, but what do we expect the freelancers to do in such situations; to just keep losing clients?

The freelancers are caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to balance the demands of their work with the harsh realities of their environment. Life is a constant struggle for them with no hope in sight. In fact, things are going worse, with electricity not available for as long as 22 hours in a day, leaving a mere two-hour workday for the freelancers.

If this were happening in mainstream Pakistan, there would have been uproar, protests, maybe even riots. But because the people in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are conveniently labelled as ‘peaceful’, they are expected to endure silently. Seeking fairness is seen as extremism. Suffering in silence is what everybody in a position of authority expects the GB people to do.

The loadshedding pattern in the area has remained unchanged for months, adding further to the woes of freelancers. Unfortunately, it is like the GB is facing an electricity apartheid, cut off from the rest of the world while the people are struggling to make ends meet.

And let us not even get started on the climate crisis. The winter this year has been a cruel joke, with no rain and no snowfall for the most part; just bitter cold and endless darkness. The very essence of people’s livelihoods is being stripped away by forces beyond their control.

The GB government should wake up and see beyond the immediate political games. It has to stop pandering to those in power and start thinking about the people whose lives are being shattered by protracted official negligence. The people deserve better. They surely do.

Rakhshanda Abbas
Gilgit

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2024