Pakistan’s electric mobility shift exposes neocolonial energy dependency and IMF-imposed austerity driving systemic transport crises

Indigenous and traditional energy systems in Pakistan, such as the ‘solar-powered mosques’ in rural Punjab or the wind-pump networks in Sindh, demonstrate decentralized, low-cost alternatives to grid-dependent electric mobility. These systems are often ignored in favor of corporate-led ‘green’ solutions that require foreign capital and imported technology, reinforcing dependency. The erasure of these models reflects a broader pattern where Western development paradigms dismiss indigenous innovation as ‘backward’ while extracting value from local knowledge. Community-owned energy cooperatives, such as those in Tharparkar, have operated for decades with minimal state support, yet their scaling is stifled by IMF-imposed austerity that prioritizes debt repayment over public investment.

Pakistan’s transport crises are not new but rooted in the 1990s IMF structural adjustment programs that dismantled Pakistan Railways, a once-profitable public system, under the guise of ‘efficiency.’ The 1970s nationalization of energy sectors under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was later reversed in the 1990s, leading to privatization that favored foreign firms over domestic industries. The current electric mobility push mirrors colonial-era railway expansions, where infrastructure was built to serve extractive economies rather than local needs. Historical parallels also include the 1950s ‘Green Revolution,’ where imported technologies disrupted local agricultural systems—today’s electric mobility transition risks repeating this pattern in the transport sector.

In China, electric mobility transitions were state-led and integrated with public transport, avoiding the pitfalls of market-driven fragmentation seen in Pakistan. Latin American models, such as Cuba’s ‘Special Period’ bicycle economy, show how crises can catalyze low-tech, high-resilience solutions when state support is withdrawn. African nations like Rwanda have leveraged electric mobility to reduce import dependence, but with strong state coordination to prevent corporate capture. These contrasts highlight how Pakistan’s transition, framed as a ‘green’ imperative, lacks the structural coherence of systems where mobility is treated as a public good rather than a commodity.

Studies show that electric motorbikes in Pakistan reduce local air pollution but increase lifecycle emissions due to coal-dependent electricity grids, contradicting the ‘zero-emission’ narrative. The IMF’s austerity measures have been linked to increased respiratory diseases in urban areas due to reduced public transport funding, as seen in IMF reports on Greece and Egypt. Life-cycle assessments of lithium-ion batteries reveal significant environmental costs in mining (e.g., water depletion in South America’s ‘lithium triangle’), which are rarely factored into Pakistan’s transition plans. Scientific consensus also emphasizes that systemic change requires integrated energy-transport policies, not piecemeal electrification.

Pakistani artists like Huma Bhabha and Imran Qureshi have critiqued the aestheticization of ‘green’ transitions in their works, framing them as neocolonial impositions that erase local identities. Sufi traditions in Pakistan emphasize communal resource-sharing (e.g., *sair* or shared grazing lands), a principle that could inspire cooperative mobility models where vehicles are collectively owned. The spiritual dimension of mobility is often overlooked—e.g., the role of rickshaw drivers as cultural icons in Lahore’s urban fabric, whose displacement by electric bikes symbolizes a loss of community and identity. Indigenous Pashtun traditions of *melmastia* (hospitality) extend to shared transport, suggesting alternatives to individual car ownership.

Scenario modeling by the Asian Development Bank suggests Pakistan’s electric mobility transition could reduce oil imports by 15% by 2030, but only if paired with grid decarbonization and public transport integration—currently absent from policy plans. Without structural reforms, the shift may deepen energy poverty, as seen in South Africa’s 2022 electricity crisis where renewable energy adoption failed to address grid instability. Future models must account for climate migration pressures, which could double Pakistan’s urban population by 2050, necessitating scalable, low-cost mobility solutions. The IMF’s debt restructuring terms could further constrain Pakistan’s ability to invest in domestic renewable energy, locking it into a cycle of dependency.

Informal transport workers—rickshaw drivers, qingqi operators, and delivery personnel—face systemic exclusion from policy discussions, despite comprising 10% of Pakistan’s urban workforce. Women, who rely on motorbikes for economic activities in rural areas, are disproportionately affected by fuel shortages and lack access to electric mobility subsidies. Religious minorities, such as the Ahmadiyya community, have been historically barred from certain professions and now face additional barriers in accessing new mobility technologies due to discriminatory lending practices. Disabled communities are also sidelined, as electric motorbikes often lack adaptive features, reinforcing mobility apartheid.