A changed Karachi

Karachi has always been a hope for Pakistanis, particularly for those who believe in earning their livelihood through hard work and in a respectable manner. The city accommodates around 20 million Pakistanis irrespective of their sectarian, ethnic and religious backgrounds despite challenges of law and order and civic issues. Coming from another extreme corner of the country, Gilgit-Baltistan, the city gave me a lot during my seven years’ stay, and I completed my Intermediate studies through to Masters while living in Karachi.

After I completed my education from Karachi University, I left for Islamabad in 2003 to work in mainstream media. I returned to the metropolis after 12 long years, thanks to the Centre for Excellence in Journalism at IBA, Karachi, which arranged a fantastic training course on economic and financial reporting.

During my two-week long stay in the city, I found it quite different from what it was a little over a decade ago. It has reversed to zero as far as development is concerned, particularly when it comes to the civic service mechanism. It seems that no mechanism for dumping garbage is present, roads are in a dilapidated shape, there are open sewers and the traffic system is chaotic depicting a scene from a polo match being played sans any rules and regulations.

The ground situation suggests that the absence of a local government system is the main cause for all these ills. It is on record that the two successive governments of the two major so-called democratic parties — the PPP and the PML-N — over the past few years have strongly resisted the holding of local government (LG) elections in the country despite interference by the apex court in this regard. Not holding LG polls is not only a violation of the Constitution but also deprives people of basic necessities and proper civic services in the absence of local governments. General (retd) Pervez Musharraf should be credited with introducing an effective LG system when he was in power. During private discussions with Karachities, it has been established that the two consecutive terms of the PPP government has given the city nothing more than lawlessness. People are now wondering if it was a curse for them to give a chance to democrats.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2015.