In Abdul Aziz's print shop, the daily blackouts that plunge him into darkness and silence his rolling presses are costly and chip away at his faith in Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

For nearly a decade, power shortages have hobbled the country's economy and eaten into Aziz's profits, preventing him from hiring more staff or expanding his family-owned business.

Sharif swept to power in 2013 vowing to eradicate crippling outages that brought Pakistan's $250 billion economy to its knees, but he now faces a race against time to stay true to his word before the next general election in 2018.