AS criticism of Karachi’s urban decay has reached a crescendo, the officials running Sindh have found a convenient alibi: blame the people. That’s what Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani did recently, before he backtracked after a storm of controversy arose against his ill-informed observations. Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Ghani said the people of Karachi were responsible for its deplorable state, and that they tended to “exaggerate” matters. After members of civil society and political parties severely criticised the minister for these insensitive comments, he apologised saying he was quoted “out of context”, while adding that when people visiting from abroad met him, they said Karachi’s conditions “are not as bad as depicted on TV”. Perhaps these expats Mr Ghani is referring to would like to relocate to Karachi, and then re-evaluate their overly optimistic views. Last month, Karachi’s police chief Jawed Alam Odho, while speaking to local businessmen, made similarly tone-deaf comments when he said that the megacity’s people are their “own enemies”, who were driving away investment by highlighting incidents of violent crime.

These comments from Sindh’s high officials are tantamount to victim blaming. Whether it is the deplorable state of the city’s infrastructure, or the epidemic of crime that has engulfed Karachi, are the people really responsible for their own miseries? While it is true that many citizens lack civic sense, the systematic devastation of Karachi over the decades — through omission and commission — is without doubt the work of the politicians and bureaucrats who have ruled this hapless city. The PPP, which has been running Sindh for 14 years, and the MQM have been equal partners in making Karachi barely liveable, mainly by watering down the LG system as well as stuffing incompetent partymen — who are least interested in public service, and more concerned with lining their pockets — in tax-funded civic bodies. Therefore, instead of rubbing salt into Karachi’s festering wounds, the PPP should work with the opposition to ensure that the city gets an empowered local government without delay.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2022