Till a couple of decades ago, Karachi was called Pakistan’s ‘jewel in the crown.’ No longer. The world’s megacity, with a population of 40 million, is experiencing multiple man-made disasters ranging from a serious water crisis to erosion of the city’s infrastructure, rampant crime, and mushrooming illegal settlements. There are countless issues faced by the people of Karachi, such as power shortages, waste disposal, and a pathetic educational system.

Karachi was the federal capital of Pakistan from August 1947 till 1960, until the time the military regime of President General Ayub Khan, keeping in mind its own interests, made the decision to move the capital to Rawalpindi and then to the newly built city of Islamabad.

Karachi was not only the federal capital but also the industrial, commercial, and business hub of the new state of Pakistan and reflected multicultural characteristics as people from different parts of the country settled in Karachi because it provided them employment opportunities despite ethnic and linguistic variations. As Pakistan’s only port city of then West Pakistan, Karachi also emerged as the country’s international hub.

But the erosion and decline of Karachi did not begin when the capital was shifted to Rawalpindi, the garrison city, and then to Islamabad. Rather, its story of neglect and back-to-back disasters began when the first government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was installed in December 1971. The urban-rural divide, quota system, language riots, and discrimination against the Urdu-speaking segment of the population of Sindh in employment and education deepened the city’s sense of deprivation.

Particularly, the last 18 years of the PPP-led Sindh government have deepened Karachi’s water, infrastructure, electricity, and waste disposal issues. Illegal settlements, with the connivance of those wielding power, and rising crime have further augmented Karachi’s predicament.

It would, however, be unfair to blame merely the PPP for Karachi’s endless predicament. MQM and other........

© The Friday Times