Giving a solution: Karachi is an ailing patient that needs serious treatment: Ghazi Salahuddin

For 'I am Karachi' consortium member, Karachi is the largest reservoir of talent in Pakistan

KARACHI: The air of Karachi is contaminated by chaos and commotion which makes it difficult for the 20 million residents to breathe freely, said Ghazi Salahuddin. "To prevent this suffocation, it is need of the hour to seek a cure for Karachi, which is now an ailing patient."

Salahuddin, a writer and journalist, feels it is time for the civil society to take a well-structured initiative to improve the situation of Karachi. He was talking to The Express Tribune as a consortium member of the 'I am Karachi' campaign, an endeavour to revive sociocultural activities in Karachi.

"The consortium, after having diagnosed the problem of Karachi, plans to move strategically to strive for peace," he said. "We need to initiate diverse sociocultural activities to cure Karachi and to create a sense of ownership among the inhabitants of Karachi." He said that Karachi is not only a source of economic growth but also the largest reservoir of talent in Pakistan.

Salahuddin emphasised on the need to create discipline among the citizens of Karachi. "It is not difficult to assess the calibre of a city by its traffic," he said. "The deteriorating situation of Karachi's traffic is appalling."

Apart from investing in tangible resources Karachi needs to reinvigorate intangible values as well, he said. "Lack of rational debate has made Karachi intolerant, fearful and intellectually deprived," he claimed.

Salahuddin said that the diversity of a city lies in how people celebrate their culture and art.  "Hardly one per cent of the 20 million people show up at festivals, plays and concerts," he pointed out. "Western culture has dominated our lives for a long time," he said. "We have adopted their language and culture. Unfortunately, we have not adopted their habit of reading books, performing arts, reclaiming public spaces and generating novel ideas."

The 'I am Karachi' campaign will create a sense of belonging that will spread from your area to your city and then your country, he said.

Salahuddin recalled how they have received support from different parts of the world. The deputy head of mission at the Pakistan Embassy in Ankara, Aisha Farooqui, wrote to him when she read his article 'Another Karachi is possible' on reclaiming the city. She said that as a daughter of Karachi she felt pained, deprived, betrayed and abandoned. "Please task me with something to help this campaign move forward," she wrote.

Salahuddin claimed that Karachi cannot change in a day, a month or a year. "It is a gradual process that cannot be measured but small indicators of change can be felt over time," he said. "Karachi, as a metropolitan city, is like a magnet that not only attracts ambitious people but also criminals," said Salahuddin. "The decline in the rate of crime will stir hope in the hearts of people and will allow them to come out and breathe in the air which exudes art and culture only."

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2015.