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Karachi

Crumbling Karachi

The extent of deprivation of Karachi can be judged from the fact that its inhabitants are not fully counted in the population census and thus remain deprived of their legitimate share in the provincial revenue along with their just representation both in Provincial and National Assemblies.

By S.R.H. Hashmi | September 2023


From water scarcity to encroachments, sanitation issues to inadequate transport infrastructure, dismal primary education and health services in the government sector, security, or any problem you may visualize, you will find its extreme presence in Karachi. And that is despite the city being the birthplace of the founder of Pakistan and the one-time capital of the country, declared so by the Quaid himself, in addition to being a populous city that welcomes and hosts people of all ethnicities and provinces. Also, being the country’s main port and an industrial and commercial hub, it maximizes federal and provincial revenue. And yet, from the colossal sum it raises, it is not given back even a small fraction to enable it to provide its residents with the bare minimum level of civic services. And even all this still doesn’t tell the whole story of the city’s and its residents’ deprivation.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) takes great pride in passing the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which devolved substantial powers and the related financial resources from the federation to the provinces. However, the 18th Amendment also mandated third-tier local governments. But the PPP’s provincial government ignored this provision and dismantled even the local government system provided by General Pervez Musharraf’s government. Under pressure, the Sindh government occasionally introduces some rudimentary system of local government for show only, but with all administrative powers and financial resources firmly controlled by the provincial government and not the elected LG officials.

The extent of deprivation of the city can be judged from the fact that its inhabitants are not even considered fit to be counted fully in the population census and thus remain deprived of their legitimate share in the provincial revenue and the parliamentary seats. Of course, gerrymandering and other manipulations come on top of it. All this enables the deeply entrenched PPP to control the province with the much-inflated number of parliamentary seats. Sadly, even the latest population census, especially conducted before the mandated 10-year period, has only partially redressed this great injustice.

As we all know, Asif Zardari made Shehbaz Sharif the prime minister. As such, it was now Shehbaz’s turn to return the favour. Meanwhile, as an ally of the PTI government, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had extracted a promise from the PTI to hold the population census before the mandatory period of ten years and to base 2023 elections on the latest population figure of Karachi. Subsequently, due to its pivotal role in the no-confidence motion and subsequent formation of the PDM government, the MQM compelled Shehbaz Sharif to conduct the census, which he did, but only after delaying it as much as possible. And how unsatisfactory the census plan and its execution were can be judged from the fact that the census, which was to be completed in one month starting March 1, had to be extended five times until May 15, with the MQM and the Jamaat-e-Islami still complaining and pointing out inaccuracies as also the fact that Karachi population figure came nowhere near the widely-believed figure of 30 million to 35 million.


As a result of continuing pressure by the MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami, and after five extensions - with each extension revealing millions of hitherto uncounted persons - the corrected Karachi’s population figure finally reached 20,382,881. And while this figure was over ten million short of the widely believed figure of 30 to 35 million, it was still much higher than the figure disclosed after completing the originally planned one month of census work. So the MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami continued protesting. Still, the PDM government just put the census exercise in limbo and neither extended the census exercise nor notified the census results.

People remember that the first time Karachi saw substantial development in recent history was when Naimatullah Khan of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) became the Karachi Mayor.

And then, near the end of tenure, some senior PML-N and PPP leaders started making pronouncements that forthcoming general elections will have to be based on 2017 population figures because of constitutional constraints. Of course, both MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami were up in arms. However, acting prudently, the MQM insisted on and agreed to the figure of 20,382,881, fully realizing its weakened bargaining position so near the term-expiry and that any hesitation on its part at this stage would give the PML-N and the PPP’s top leaders - now bosom buddies - an opportunity to opt for the millions lower, 2017 census figures.

So, Shehbaz Sharif and Asif Zardari managed to pull a fast one and presented MQM and JI with a fait accompli. However, this exposes further the true face of dynastic politicians. I often wonder why Jamaat-e-Islami, a well-organized party with a proper structure, devoted members, and roots across the country, fails to achieve its well-deserved place in Pakistan’s political landscape. Regretfully, I conclude that this is perhaps due to JI’s political approach based on the ‘All or Nothing’ principle.

Perhaps Jamaat-e-Islami should consider joining hands with the MQM, which has the same objective of serving the citizen of Karachi and which, through the unification of different factions, shedding its ethnic identity and entering into an alliance with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), now has a much wider appeal which entitles the alliance to a major role in the politics of the province, plus a significant role at the national level. People remember that the first time Karachi saw substantial development in recent history was when Naimatullah Khan of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) became the Karachi Mayor. And the second time, this was Syed Mustafa Kamal of MQM, who turned Karachi into a modern city.

We also know that the territory’s population now forming Pakistan has grown to seven times what it was at the time of inception. And even at just over two crore - probably understated by over ten million - the city’s population exceeds that of many small states. And on this account alone, the city deserves to be given the status of a province on administrative grounds or, as second best, at least a comprehensive local government system, with control over the whole city and adequate funds to enable it to serve people efficiently. Of course, the city cannot be left at the mercy of disinterested parties which run it from rural Sindh only to siphon off the city’s finances to boost their private assets.

With general elections approaching, even the Sindh government seems to show much more interest in Karachi. However, it is visible mainly in print and electronic media, not on the ground. We do see a few large, modern buses plying on some routes. However, plying on dilapidated or even rebuilt roads which can last not more than one rainy season, these delicate buses will soon become unserviceable and go off-road, like has happened many times in the past. It is time that this ongoing exploitation of Karachi and its citizenry is brought to an end.

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