KARACHI: This is with reference to President Asif Ali Zardari’s statement that the “state has not failed in Karachi”. President Zardari’s statement may be true, but it seems that a conscious effort is underway to fail the state. All signs point towards it, be it the targeted killings, shutting down of CNG stations, gang wars, harassing businessmen for protection money and the inability of the law-enforcement agencies to apprehend criminals, suggest that either the government has failed in Karachi or is deliberately ignorant towards the situation in the city. Otherwise, how is it possible that a country’s economic hub is left to bleed, politically, economically and socially? Since November 6, 50 people have been killed on ethnic, sectarian and religious grounds and this toll is bound to rise.
Harassing businessmen by demanding protection money is a common practice so much so that now, traders voluntarily provide the asked amount on the ‘due dates’ or they have to face a threat to their lives. If the state is not failing in Karachi, then what else is failing in Karachi Mr President? Karachi is the capital of Sindh, which is the main vote bank of the PPP. We, the residents of Sindh, have always believed that the PPP will introduce development projects and that these programmes will be as effective on the ground as they are on paper. However, all we see is Karachi withering away, the state helpless and the people even more so.
As if these problems are not enough, CNG shutdowns have become a chronic problem in Karachi. Since the Supreme Court’s order that reduced CNG price, CNG stations are being shut down every now and then, making life miserable for the common man. Every single day is a battle of survival for Karachiites.
Bismah Mirza
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2012.
