Karachi’s big question

Who owns Karachi is a question raised every time the city is inundated with rains, or when the life and property of its citizens is at risk from various hooligans that have or had marked their territories in different parts of the city, or when any other untoward incident strikes the City of Fright. Once the storm passes away, such questions are quickly forgotten in the humdrum of daily life.

Given Karachi’s peculiar nature, politics of the city is complex and much debated issue already. There are no quick fixes for fixing Karachi’s politics. No number of MNA/MPA from Karachi can bring about any meaningful administrative or infrastructural change in the city unless they hold majority in Sindh’s assembly. The earlier Karachiites understand this, the better – so they can look for alternate solutions to bring about change. Even federal government projects can only achieve little when the constitutional framework assigns bigger responsibilities to the provincial government.

One such alterative for mainstreaming Karachi on national agenda throughout the year is a research, advocacy and accountability campaign backed by Karachi’s business elite and run by Karachi’s political leadership who are sitting on the opposition benches of Sindh Assembly for the last decade or so. The idea should be to raise din about Karachi all year along, not by name and shaming political adversaries but by presenting facts and solutions.

Is it not unfortunate that a city that boasts the country’s top exporters, and one of the biggest industrial bases does not have university clusters that research on various economic, social, political and infrastructural affairs related to Karachi? How many thinktanks does Karachi have dedicated to the life and livelihood in Karachi? How many seminars, conferences, press conferences do the likes of FPCCI, the PBC, and the KCCI hold in a month on Karachi-specific issues, and make sure that it’s given necessary coverage on national media. What percentage of activities by think tanks in or outside Karachi, and what percentage of media coverage engages provincial leadership on Karachi’s issues including the all-important local government agenda?

Does the business elite think mere rants will help bring change in the city? Or do they think that the average man on the street will solve the city’s problems. And is it a politician’s job to clean the streets of Karachi after rains and claim it as their service to the city or are they elected to think and deliver strategically regardless of whether they sit on treasury or on opposition benches?

Soon after the urban flooding last week, some notable business leaders demanded that the city should be given to the military establishment. Well here is the news flash: when gun totting army jawans have to clear knee high rainwater from the streets of DHA Karachi, one can very well imagine the state of DHA’s administrative capabilities to manage a residential society.

DHA Karachi’s road and other infrastructure has only worsened over the last decade and the recent rains was only the last straw the broke the camel’s back forcing otherwise least protesting lot of citizens from Karachi’s urban educated elite sections of society, to protest against DHA and Clifton Cantonment Board (CCB) this week, making it the first ever protest against any DHA and cantonment in the history of umpteen DHA and Cantts in Pakistan.

Who would have thought someday a handful of urban educated elite including women, senior citizens, and white collar professionals who are otherwise disenfranchised from the city’s politics would push across a row of policemen, breakthrough the main gate of the CCB, hurl flowerpots, and even a few stones at the glass doors of the CCB’s main building to demand accountability of the taxes they paid to DHA/CCB, resignation of the CCB’s CEO, amongst a host of other demands.

It’s too early to say whether it was simply pent up anger or whether it reflects a social awakening that while a cantonment may be defined as a garrison, a residential society with ordinary citizens is not a garrison, and that administrators of a residential society ought to be accountable to both its residents and the public at large. But it surely goes on to show that when public services are not delivered then even the so-called burger uncles and aunties turn into a mob and demand accountability. This should be a sign for those who are wise!