Karachi in crisis

The city of Karachi is often described by a variety of flowery epithets; the City by the Sea, the City of Lights; Pakistan’s business capital etc. But over the past few decades, it would be perhaps more accurate to describe it as a city in perpetual crisis. Rampant crime, lack of civic infrastructure and a local government system that just doesn’t deliver can be described as the key problems of this metropolis.

Let’s start with crime. While thankfully the rampant ethnic, sectarian and terrorist violence that the city witnessed up till very recently may be down, there appears to be no escape from street crime. Citizens are waylaid while drawing cash, walking on the streets or on their way to work/school. People have little time to react when a mugger points a loaded weapon in their face. The best option is to hand over whatever valuables one has, or else risk injury or death. Over the past few days several high-profile street crimes made news in the city. In one incident a trader from the interior of Sindh was shot by criminals after he withdrew cash from a bank. In another terrifying episode a newly married man was gunned down in front of his house when a mugger tried to loot his mother and sister. The suspect was later said to be a policeman who shot himself to evade arrest. Of course, the question on every law-abiding citizen’s mind is: when will this madness end, and when will these bloodthirsty beasts face justice?

Let us move on to the city’s devastated infrastructure and the lack of a local government system that delivers. It can be rightly argued that both these issues are linked. To put it plainly, Karachi’s roads are broken and potholed; it does not get enough water for its people; sewage floods the streets; its parks and green spaces are encroached upon; piles of garbage abound; it does not have a public transport system worth the name. Is this what a city that generates tens of billions of rupees in tax revenues deserves? One look at the business capitals of other states — in the developed and developing world — tells us that Karachi is definitely not getting a fair deal. After all, most of this can be linked to the fact that the city’s local government system introduced by the PPP is a failure. In fact, Sindh’s ruling party has also failed to perform in its traditional power centres, such as Larkana and Sukkur, where civic facilities are concerned. For example Larkana — citadel of the Bhuttos — resembles a primitive town from the late 19th century. But for now let us come back to Karachi.

Where law and order are concerned, the paramilitary Rangers have had to step in periodically to restore order. While their efforts and sacrifices must be appreciated, what the city needs is a responsive police force; a force modelled on the community policing model. Ideally, the officers that patrol the city’s streets should be familiar with their surroundings. They should know the neighbourhoods and the people that reside within them to help keep crime in check. Moreover, intelligence-based operations are needed to smash the gangs of street criminals, drug peddlers and other killers that rule Karachi. The full force of the law must be used against these venal elements so that law-abiding citizens can sleep easily. Presently, any yahoo with a gun can terrorise peaceful citizens, which is why a severe crackdown on illegal weapons is needed.

As for improving infrastructure, the federal and provincial governments must work together to make the Rs1.1tr Karachi Transformation Plan the prime minister announced in September 2020 a reality. Karachi’s people want to see real change, not lollipops. And along with these funds, what the city direly needs is a workable local government system, something the PPP is resisting tooth and nail. The local government system introduced by Pervez Musharraf in 2001, which the PPP replaced in 2013, was a much better arrangement as citizens could get their issues resolved in a mostly hassle-free manner. To paraphrase the adage, if it wasn’t broken, why fix it? But in its attempts to ‘fix’ Karachi, the PPP has really made a hash of it, helping push back the metropolis several decades where development is concerned. Sindh’s ruling party needs to heed what the opposition is saying and introduce an LG system that works for this city. It must be people-centric, not a plaything for unelected bureaucrats to toy with. It is time the federal and provincial governments stopped beating around the bush and got down to giving Karachi its due.

The writer is City Editor, Bol News