The Landhi train tragedy

Pakistan has an incredible history of learning nothing from completely avoidable loss of lives. The Landhi train accident is another reminder of this, and how little human lives are worth here. It does not necessarily take a train accident to remind us that though, the state of the carriages can tell that story any day.

By the time this editorial was written, at least 20 people were reported to have died and over 40 injured. Initial reports stated that railway officials gave a green signal by mistake to the train coming from behind and Zakaria Express hit Fareed Express, which was standing at rest at the Karachi station. This is at least the third accident in 12 months. In September, at least four people were killed and more than 100 injured when two trains collided near Multan. Last November, 19 people were killed in Balochistan after a train’s brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain. Yet, there is little thought given to improving our current state. This is completely unsurprising. After all, this is the country that has witnessed two major air crashes in recent years, yet things barely changed, if at all, to make air travel safer. This is the country where hundreds of factory workers were burnt to death, but there is not even a sustained effort to ensure that there are fire extinguishers or emergency exits, let alone a care for labour laws.

In the chaos that is Pakistan, many things seem beyond repair. It is impossible for instance, to change people’s civic sense overnight or go from times of conflict to peace, but there are, surely, various things that can be changed. Government after government has been pleaded to improve the over 150-year-old train system, but it slowly keeps chugging into decay. This is the same system that just across the border in India, is a lifeline for its citizens.

If only time was spent building institutions and infrastructure instead of wasting it on ideological absurdities and power tussles, Pakistan, like its railway system, would not be a country eroding itself.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2016.

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