Karachi’s new mayor

Since he became Karachi’s mayor last week, Waseem Akhtar has caught the attention of national as well as international media. ‘Pakistan’s largest city set to be run by the imprisoned mayor’ was the headline of The Guardian, one of the most prestigious newspapers in the United Kingdom. While national and international media is giving an extraordinary coverage to him and his political party, the very reason why the people of Karachi voted in local bodies has lost somewhere in last few months.

From his nomination for the mayor’s post to his victory, he has been a polarising figure in Pakistan. Some say he has a criminal record and a mayor should not have such a past. Others still wonder why his party even nominated him when it had several other options. But now that he has taken the oath, Akhtar should immediately start his job.

Being a Karachiite, I want to see immediate positive change in Karachi. I don’t care who the new mayor is and which party he belongs to. I want progress on all major issues like shortage of fresh water, solid waste management, transport problem, etc. I even don’t care where he runs his office from. Whether he sits in his proper office or jail, he should be allowed to work.

I am sure many will agree with me that Naimatullah Khan – Jamaat-e-Islami’s city mayor from 2001 to 2005 – and Mustafa Kamal – MQM’s city mayor from 2005 to 2010 – had brought some sense of ownership in Karachi. Despite all their shortcomings, one thing that these mayors had given to the people was the confidence that there was some government in place. When I compare this city from the city when it was governed by these mayors, I feel sorry for my people. People were noticing change and were happy that their elected people live within their reach.

The demeanor of leading political parties indicates that they don’t want to see local bodies system in place. In fact, these influential people abhor devolving power to the grass-roots level.The people of Karachi, like other cities, do not want to look towards Islamabad’s highly centralised system for every trivial problem. Every city has its own set of problems that only a local person can understand. Being the most populous city of the country, Karachi badly needs a dedicated mayor. Any person, party or institution that creates hindrance or delays this process, is definitely not a well-wisher of Karachiites and Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2016.