Karachi — a victim of indifference and betrayal

The peak of the monsoon rains in Karachi came on August 27 which drowned nearly the entire city, exposing the indifference, opportunism and negligence of those who got votes from Karachi in the name of fixing things in the long-neglected city, but have been missing since.

None of the PTI or the MQM, the two parties which secured more than two-thirds of provincial and national assembly seats from Karachi, or the PPP which rules the province of Sindh from its capital were competent enough to take immediate measures for the drainage of water from the city part of which remained inundated for days and deprived of electricity for as much as 90 hours in some cases. A city of 25 million is passing through the worst phase of its history because of infrastructure collapse; vultures in the form of corrupt mafias; and total apathy on the part of those who are supposed to be the custodians of Pakistan’s ‘jewel in crown’.

In realistic terms, Pakistan’s 220 million people are paying the price of the trust they bestowed on those who won the 2018 general elections and reached the corridors of power. If they were “cheated by mafias” who took their votes and did not show up, the people of Karachi who were called educated and politically conscious also made the same mistake by electing those who brainwashed them by making tall promises under the slogan of “change”. Karachiites had made a similar mistake in 1988 when the MQM managed to earn their trust and confidence and secured a heavy mandate. The PTI — the party that rules the Centre and that bagged majority seats from Karachi in 2018 — is so far unable to deliver and tries to get away with the excuse that it does not hold sway in the province or in the local government.

When Karachi came under water and failed to get help from the PPP, the MQM and the PTI, it was only Jamaat-i-Islami and welfare organisations like Saylani, Alamgir Trust, JDC Welfare Organisation and Edhi Foundation who were working on ground. They were the ones who rescued people trapped in water and provided food to the urban flooding-affected citizens. They are the real heroes of Karachi who came to the citizens’ rescue as against those who despite being in power disappeared from the scene.

While Karachi continues to be a victim of indifference and let-down, one must take into account two major facts, as follows:

First, the mindset of those who got power after making false promises needs to be understood. It appears as if their main purpose was to get votes just to reach the corridors of power and never to come in contact with their voters nor be accountable to them. Both Dr Arif Alvi and Imran Khan were elected from Karachi but after assuming the office of President and Prime Minister, respectively, they did nothing for the wellbeing of the citizens and left them in the lurch. Even at time when millions of people in Karachi and other parts of Sindh are suffering because of the destruction caused by torrential rains, they have so far taken no concrete step to alleviate the plight of the citizens who sent them to the highest public offices — except for issuing customary statements for political consumption. Dr Alvi, who till 2017 used to claim that if his party was voted to power, it would change Karachi’s destiny, remained missing from the public eye during the rains in 2019 or 2020. This is the mindset that reflects betrayal and opportunism on the part of those who use the votes of the people to get power and then ditch them. Perhaps they have never gone through the history books and are unaware of the fate of the rulers who let their people down.

Second, the failure of institutions to deliver in Karachi will continue to aggravate the city’s troubles. Neither the Centre nor the provincial and the now-defunct city government were good enough to deal with the issues of drainage, sewerage, solid waste management, water supply, electricity and public transport. Likewise, the Clifton Cantonment Board, the DHA and the much-publicised National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) too failed to perform their duties. It is strange that institutions which were supposed to deal with the warning of urban flooding in the wake of heavy rains in Karachi remained ineffective as they miserably failed to utilise their resources and manpower to intervene and manage the disaster timely. There are a variety of reasons contributing to institutional failure in Karachi like the lack of accountability, non-professional attitude, corruption, nepotism and the absence of planning. Allegations and counter-allegations by institutions against each other not only eroded their credibility but also thoroughly exposed their capability and capacity to deliver. While the whole of Pakistan is facing an institutional crisis, the case of Karachi is different because it is not only a megacity but also makes a major contribution to federal and provincial revenues.

When the President, the PM, the Sindh CM and the mayors of Karachi and Hyderabad — along with the NDMA, the DHA and the Cantonment Board — failed to promptly respond to the warning of urban flooding and an impending disaster, it implies the state failure. Therefore, it is not just the question of indifference, let-down and betrayal on the part of the elected lot, but also the collective failure of institutions. When the residents of posh localities of Defence, Clifton and Bath Island had to come out in protest in the wake of the rain destruction, we can assume how bad the situation of the people living in poor and middle class localities of the city would be.

The record of heavy rain of July-August 1967 has been broken in 2020. But in 1967, Karachi was one-third of what it is now in terms of its spread. Then, there used to be a natural flow of Lyari and Malir rivers and the drainage system was in a proper shape. Unauthorised constructions blocking the flow of rainwater were not there either. But the situation in 2020 is different. Institutions must be held responsible for illegal construction on nullahs as well as the negligence that caused the devastation. Unless the voters start rejecting the non-performers in the coming elections and make a horrible example out of them, perhaps the people of Karachi — and those in other parts of Pakistan — will have to live with this culture of indifference, let-down and betrayal.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2020.

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