Karachi has been a wonderful city. It still is. A stunning mosaic of cultural groups, it is a microcosm of country’s diversity. A large number of different racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious groups that co-exist in it make its life productive and rich. It developed rapidly after the emergence of Pakistan as it became our national capital. More importantly, it was the sole seaport of the country which exponentially increased its importance for the national economy; it had the year-round responsibility to handle all the country’s imports and exports. As it became our financial hub and its job market expanded people from every nook and corner of the country flocked to Karachi in search of a better life.

But after the national capital was moved to Islamabad in1967, the things started taking a different turn. The city was handed over to the provincial government of Sindh and due to a host of factors it started its downward slide. Three of them stand out. One, it was deprived of the financial largesse; federal funds previously available for its management and development could no longer be taken for granted. The stream in fact became a trickle exacerbating the situation to the extent that its infrastructure started decaying and crumbling. Unending internal migration to the city made its maintenance and expansion an extremely messy task. Two, migration from India in the wake of the Partition prompted by Urdu-speaking politicians and bureaucrats changed the demographics of the city in the absence of Hindus forced to leave for India.

Different ethnic groups, especially Sindhi and Urdu speakers, now vie for the political ascendency. Sindhis apart from being locals have majority in the province but in Karachi they are outnumbered. Consequently, Urdu speakers being a large group stake their claim for city’s reins which is naturally resisted by Sindhis. Overall majority of Sindhis in the province makes such a move untenable. The conflict lingers on with the result that Karachi beats Sindhi politicians/rulers in elections and Sindhis invariably disown the city when in power. It’s revenge politics. Three, undemocratic forces in the higher echelons of power deliberately exploit this schism by setting one group against the other to gain political control of the city that’s economically crucial. Such a divisive act helps them to have controlled chaos for the advancement of their politico-economic agenda.

To sum up, ethnic conflicts and political apathy, and cynicism have torn the social fabric of the city damaging the community instinct. Unplanned and haphazard expansion of residential and commercial areas because of the population pressure and building mafias’ greed have led to the degradation of environment and emergence of slums in Karachi with soaring crime rate. Solution is nowhere in sight; Sindhi ruling elite has neither the will nor the capacity to solve Karachi’s multiple chronic problems.

No other provincial government or Islamabad has interest in creating jobs for their people in their home districts to stem the flow of internal migration to ease the situation in Karachi. It being country’s sole seaport and financial hub speaks the language that other cities do not understand but imitate; expansion without planning.

Lahore would be a good case study for social scientists and urban planners. It’s the capital of the most populated province of the country with a long history. It’s on the verge of becoming another Karachi. Like Karachi its strength is its bane. Being a developed metropolitan with all types of modern facilities it attracts people from all over Punjab as well as from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern areas. It is not abandoned like Karachi by its lords. It’s rather pampered, much to the chagrin of other districts. They groan under the dead weight of underdevelopment. So people feel compelled to move to Lahore to avail the jobs as it has a big job market. A wide range of facilities is also on offer; higher education, advanced medical care, proximity to administrative and judicial centres, and modern social and cultural life etc. Sadly, under population pressure Lahore has expanded/is expanding horizontally rather than vertically. Resultantly, it has gobbled up large swaths of adjacent fertile agricultural land and pushed the boundaries of peri-urban areas further.

In the 19th century England people would say; ‘shops eat the sheep’. In Lahore we can say without fear of being contradicted that real estate eats our villages. It seems days are not far away when our unmanageable population would eat stones instead of bread. We would have insufficient food production and no foreign reserves to import grains. Lahore is cared for; each incumbent government regardless of its political leanings allocates generous funds for its administration and development. And it happens at the cost of other cities. This irrational love for Lahore plays a paradoxical role; it makes the city a beloved and hated city simultaneously turning its strength into its weakness. It makes it vulnerable to abuse and hate.

The underdeveloped regions of Punjab resents this preferential treatment because they get peanuts out of official kitty. Funds which are scarce anyway should be fairly distributed, insist other claimants. By not making required budgetary allocations for the areas beyond Lahore, government makes matters difficult for Lahore. It breeds political resentment against it. Secondly, it compels people from boondocks and neglected areas to move to Lahore in droves in search of improving their life. Thus city’s population increases which puts immense pressure on the infrastructure and local amenities stretching them to breaking point.

What is to be done? Karachi can be saved by the federal and provincial governments if they put their money where their mouth is; having local governments and initiating development schemes which provide the people jobs and modern facilities close to their home. Investing in people would discourage them to move to the forbidding metropolitans where they are treated as aliens or unwanted.

Similarly, Lahore can be saved if we decide to love it less; love shown to the underdeveloped regions in terms of resource allocation would be an incentive for the people to stay where they are who are otherwise in a mad rush to move to this metropolitan city at the cost of their emotional and cultural health. Better medical and education facilities plus jobs are what they need in their areas. Happy cities are the ones built with the mortar of people’s aspirations.

Poet Brecht warns: “What’s the point of cities, built without people’s wisdom?” — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024