The people of Sindh are suffering. It appears that the provincial government is in cahoots with the weather itself to ensure that this is the summer of everyone’s discontent. The battle is playing out with the Sindh government on the one side and the Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) on the other. The sticking point is the provision of gas supply to the Noriabad power plant in Karachi. The fallout has been excessive load shedding. The SSGCL is seeking bank guarantees before releasing supplies. Sindh is not playing ball, and is demanding that supply comes before financial demand in this case. The Chief Minister is placing the blame firmly on the shoulders of the Centre. At the heart of the matter, he says, is the unfair distribution of energy resources among all provinces. Sadly this is nothing new. The Centre, regardless of who is in the hot seat, is perceived as favouring the Punjab over all others. Meaning that those who have the misfortune to dwell elsewhere are effectively forced to live in conditions of abject poverty. It has long been fashionable to talk of the evils of Empire. And, it is true, that Pakistan has suffered at the hands of the British. It remains to be seen the cost that the Chinese will exact from us, but if the $90 billion repayment price tag is anything to go by, the future may not be as bright as we have been lead to believe. Yet when will we force the state to understand that Pakistan is more than just the Punjab? This perceived colonisation by the elites for the elites must stop. For it represents a massive breach in the social contract between the Centre and the provinces, state and citizenry. *