A plan to turn Punjab into a communist dictatorship has been foiled. For now.

An attempt was made to hijack the machinery of the Punjab Government last month. It happened on a singularly unsuspecting day. On the 11th of August, lawmakers gathered in the provincial assembly for a special session to mark Minorities Day. The purpose, as described by Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan, was to have a general discussion on the rights of minorities and recognise their contributions towards Pakistan. 

But there was another agenda item on the list. While lawmakers were busy giving generic speeches and providing the usual lip service, the assembly was introduced to the Punjab Enforcement and Regulation Bill 2024. 

The government was trying to play it cool. The bill called for the establishment of a Provincial Enforcement Authority. It is simply going to be a tool at the disposal of the bureaucracy and the Chief Minister to enforce price regulation and help retrieve encroached land, they claimed.

According to the government, the authority would have a small cadre of officers that would report to the CM House and would have powers to inspect and enforce marketplaces, and would ensure that rates for commodities set by the government are followed. 

Even in this initial, tame introduction, the idea of such an authority is frustrating. It represents the worst of Punjab politics. The idea that the government can, without any consequences, set prices for commodities and force private traders in a supposedly free market to comply. There is also the assumption that such actions will convince voters to support whatever party is in power. 

But the reality of this bill is far more sinister than plain old desperation politics. 

A deeper reading of the draft bill reveals it is a vaguely worded, vain, overreaching piece of writing which, if passed, will prove to be a stain on the name of democratic legislation.

Using price controls as an excuse–already a terrible and historically rubbish economic strategy–the government wants to set up parallel policing and judicial institutions that will be loyal to the Chief Minister only. It means a new police force and new bureaucrats with magisterial powers. Essentially an entire government entity with the powers to police, investigate, arrest, bear arms, prosecute, adjudicate, fine, and imprison individuals in any kind of civil matter.

This entity would not just be limited to monitoring prices of commodities, but its reach would go to land disputes, taxation, private companies, and really any other business or individual they seem fit to target. In effect, it would be a worse idea than the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). 

Luckily for everyone, the legislation has been blocked for now. Objections in committee meetings from well-meaning legislators, both from the treasury and opposition benches, have stalled the bill’s progression into becoming law. It also seems to have ruffled feathers among the Punjab Police, which fears a loss in relevance. But just how long can this be held at bay, and what could the consequences be? We start, of course, at the issue the government claims to be addressing: soaring prices.