Karachi is is the most populous city of Pakistan — a financial centre that generates the most amount of revenue for the country. Over the past many years, wicked issues and corrupt practices that have permeated into almost every institution in the city have made the lives of citizens a living hell.
At the backdrop of multiple civic and political issues, solving the multiple problems that Karachi is enmeshed in now appears to be a Herculean task for both the federal and provincial government.
However, the blame-game and clashes that commenced between the two governments over the administrative issues of Karachi over the past few days have achieved nothing. Instead, the poor still continue to suffer. The debate over the idea of taking away the administrative powers from the local government will adversely affect the lower- and middle-class citizens without bringing about the required change. Thankfully, the two governments have now finally decided to work together in order to sort out the mess that Karachi has become. The three major parties namely PPP, PTI and MQM-P have decided to form a committee comprising members from all the three parties in order to ensure that the problems of Karachi are tackled in an efficient and effective manner. The idea is to address the city’s civic issues first and then deal with the remaining plethora of minor everyday problems faced by citizens.
With all stakeholders now appearing to be on a the same page, a ray of hope can be seen at the end of the tunnel. It is important that administrations work collectively towards ameliorating Karachi’s issues so the people of Karachi can breathe a sigh of relief.
Malik Mashhood
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2020.
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