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THE torrential rains that have wreaked havoc across Karachi have also exposed various political and social fault lines in the country’s biggest city. Karachi has been hit by natural disasters before, yet the effects of the disaster this time have been far more serious and widespread.
It’s not only the slums and middle-class neighbourhoods that have suffered; the more prosperous areas too have seen the same level of misery. There has been a complete collapse of the civic infrastructure. Maybe, the scale of disaster is much greater this time and the unprecedented spell of rain worsened the situation, but the warning signs were there all along.
It is more than the breakdown of the already overstretched infrastructure; it is the failure of the entire system of governance. The city of more than 20 million people — much bigger than the population of many countries — does not have an effective municipal body let alone an empowered city government to run it. There are several authorities controlling different parts of the city. The administrative chaos has become more pronounced with each spell of rain. Predictably, the disaster has intensified the blame game and political wrangling. Nothing could be more ridiculous than the controversy over who is responsible for cleaning the gutter lines and addressing drainage problems in the city. Despite the warning of urban flooding, almost nothing was done to minimise the effect of the disaster.
Read: Now is the time to change how Karachi is governed
For some strange reason, the provincial government had taken over the responsibility of solid waste management that is one of the most basic municipal duties. That has also been one of the reasons for the city turning into a big garbage dump.
It is a city that has been drenched in blood many times.
The PPP, which has been continuously ruling the province for more than 12 years, has rightly been blamed for many things that have gone wrong in the province and particularly in Karachi. Not only did it not invest enough in improving the city infrastructure, it also moved to curtail the powers of the local government — a main reason behind the worsening plight of the city. The party takes lot of credit for the passage of the 18th Amendment but it has violated one of the latter’s most critical points, ie devolution of power to the local government.
But it is also wrong to put the entire blame on the PPP government for the mess. A large part of the city does not come under municipal jurisdiction. Almost a third of it falls under the cantonment boards and the Defence Housing Authority. Some parts also come under the federal government. All that has contributed to the poor state of governance. Successive federal governments have completely ignored infrastructure development in a city which is the country’s economic lifeline.
Unsurprisingly, the PTI, which is the main opposition party in the province and has the largest representation from the city in the National Assembly, has upped the ante. There is also talk about the imposition of federal rule in the city. That will certainly be a greater disaster. It is indeed a good sign that the prime minister has offered to work with the provincial government to help pull out the city from the crisis. It would require the cooperation of other stakeholders too.
Surely, the restoration of economic life and infrastructure should be the top priority, but there is also a need to see Karachi’s problems beyond the current disaster caused by urban flooding. There is lot more to be done to make the city more livable. Karachi’s development is also critical to the country’s economic growth. The constant political battle between the federal government and the province will make things more difficult.
For a long-term solution, there is a need for greater understanding of the city’s political and social dynamics. Our political leaders need to see things beyond the present. A major problem is the gap between perception and reality where the city is concerned.
How would one define Karachi? The city means different things to different people. With all its chaos and mayhem, it is the most vibrant city in the country. Most who come here get a livelihood. People living in other parts of Pakistan have some connection to this metropolis. It is the country’s economic jugular and financial hub. But it’s also a city that has been drenched in blood many times. It is a place where politics and crime mix. All kinds of mafias operate here and in some cases they are more powerful than the state. Political power means control over the land which is the main source of wealth.
No one knows exactly how many people live in this ever-expanding city. With the constant inflow of economic migrants, the city’s population doubles every 15 years. It’s everyone’s city, but no one wants to take ownership. People from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities are settled here, yet it could not fully become a melting pot. There are many cities within the city — socially, and culturally different from each other.
Yet it has developed a certain character and dynamism that one does not see in other cities. That invites both awe and fear. The population of the city is undercounted to maintain a power balance in order to not disturb the status quo. Karachi is the capital of Sindh, the country’s second biggest province. But it seems to have little connection with the rest of Sindh except that it is the seat of government in the province. The gap is widening with the influx of population from other parts of the country.
The fast-changing demography of the city also keeps political dynamics in a constant state of flux. Political parties as well as the security establishment have long used the ethnic divide to serve their respective political ends. That has to change if we really want to see the city develop its potential. These are the fault lines that need to be dealt with.
The writer is an author and journalist.
Twitter: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2020
