In the aftermath of the 1971 war and from the results of 1970 elections, a fresh wave of displaced persons from East Pakistan, settled in Karachi, from the pains of which the city never recovered. The slide into the abyss of neglect and decay has been consistent and continuous.
The politics of ethnicity was always present; it kept simmering from mid-fifties, when finally it burst into open, the trigger was the death of a college student who was crushed, while crossing the road, under the wheels of a wagon, aptly called, “Yellow Devils”. Bushra Zaidi’s killing sparked ethnic riots in 1982-83.
Military dictator, Gen. Ziaul Haq, having hung the most popular leader ever in Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was seeking legitimacy to prolong his rule; he backed the creation of a student organisation/political party, which was purely on linguistic and ethnic grounds. This party later was to become a Frankenstein for the creators.
That party played hide-and-seek with the establishment between1988 to 1992, when action was brought against it. Karachi in the process was ruined. Despite its real or perceived power, the party did almost nothing either for education or health sectors, let alone the much-needed development of the social structure and communication apparatus, including roads, bridges and flyovers. Every aspect was neglected.
Karachi from “the city of lights” descended into the darkness of corruption that saw the emergence of crime in the form of drug and gun culture. A large part of Karachi looks like a ghetto, a slum. A garbage dump.
A city that was…a city that can be—I
Karachi’s population has crossed over 20 million and by some estimates, it is flirting around the figure of 30 million. It is a megapolis city. Some rank it as part of the three big cities in the world. Uniquely it has no mass transit in place—what has been done and achieved thus far, is negligible. The city is crushing under the burden of wholesale mismanagement, from water distribution to heightened criminal activity and from inattention to neglect.
The city’s contribution is both real and imaginary – real by numbers and imaginary by dicey vested interests. It accounts for at least 20% of the country’s GDP, by virtue of purchasing power parity (PPP) and the estimates is around $ 200 billion, while by nominal value it is measured at $ 83 billion. The city provides for employment opportunities for the entire country. Despite this contribution as per Economist -2025 rankings in terms of liveability it has a place at 170 out of 174 cities. That’s a very low rank as per Global Liveability Index.
The city needs repairs and correction. Karachi division covers an area of 3527 km and is divided into 7 districts. Nothing appears to be functioning and that which does is reeking with corruption. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and army chief Field Marshall Asim Munir have all voiced concerns about Karachi and have held out assurances to correct matters. This correction requires bold and out of box thinking.
Recently, in the print and electronic media, there is a discussion taking place in favour of having more provinces. Some say we need 14 while others consider 8 as more relevant and appropriate.
We can learn from friendly China on how to administer mega cities and also from our immediate neighbour. Delhi is not a state— it is National Capital Territory (NCT), a union Territory like a state, but is directly administered by the central government of India. (69th Amendment, 1992). Delhi comprises seven cities, including New Delhi. The legislature is of 70 seats. In recent elections, Rekha Gupta of BJP (51 years) won the elections to become the capital city’s chief minister. Karachi too needs dynamism.
Our policymakers must also boldly think to make Karachi a federal city like it was enshrined in the FCT of 1948. This will not weaken the federation but strengthen it, and also make Karachi a performing city, a potential that it has. The benefits will accrue to the entire country. The details and mechanics can be worked out meticulously. The city being a melting pot is very different from what it was in 1988. The linguistic dominance doesn’t exist anymore. Large numbers from all the provinces reside in Karachi, so, no fair elections can give lopsided results.
Do we have the foresight? Do we want to be economically strong? Khawaja Asif, if I recall correctly had remarked that if Karachi performs, Pakistan performs. It is “mini-Pakistan”. We can make it again, a city of lights.
As a first step, individuals, preferably no politicians should be tasked to prepare a blue- print by acquiring knowledge on how Shenzhen, Shanghai, London and New York are governed and controlled. The legislative process can follow with agreed time-lines for implementation.
There is no harm to be bold, hence this scribe recommends that the future Karachi’s first language should be Urdu/Sindhi and the second language should be English. We have to compete in global markets.
Even the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese have begun to speak English. We must too.
Enlightened leadership sees the future better than the man on the street. If People’s Republic of China can take the risk of autonomous regions or cities empowered with self-governance, what’s our fear? The great reformist Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, who raised the slogan of “One country, two systems”, where the Chinese government assured the Territory of Hong Kong, once it was agreed by Britain to hand it over to China in 1997, which it did, guaranteeing continuation of free enterprise economy structure, and the formula is working to the advantage of their respective economies and the region, too. We need to be bold and creative. No power on earth can undo Pakistan, so said the Quaid, and so it shall be. (Inshallah). Let’s have Faith.
(Concluded)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is Senior Banker & Freelance Contributor