KARACHI, Nov 20: It was a little over two months ago that the Nazim of Karachi, Naimatullah Khan, in an interview with this correspondent declared: “...I promise you that I will fix all of Karachi’s problems... all my projects to remedy the water problem; the sewerage systems; the road and transport network and the education system will culminate before my tenure is over.”

Well, the Nazim is beginning to sound almost true to his words despite one’s very cynical reception to his claims at the time. What is more, he has shown to possess a very steely side to him, evident by the staunch disciplinary stance he took with the meat selling mafia.

The Nazim’s verve also appears to have spurred other functionaries handling the rest of Karachi’s management into action. The Sindh chief minister is now on a roll to, ‘do his utmost,’ for Karachi and he too has recently stated that his government is striving to develop Karachi’s coastal areas into a tourist resort of international stature to attract more tourists. To add weight to his claims, he declared that at the completion of the first year of his government, Sindh had been ‘led towards’ progress and prosperity. Well, we’ll take your word for it, Mr Mahar.

Not to be left behind, is Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad vociferously claims to be looking into his own projects and concentrating on provincial educational bodies and health services as well as the law and order situation, specially in Karachi. The picture is almost amusing as the condemned and beleaguered (for way too long) city of Karachi now has so many defenders of its virtue, whereas there was a time when all this city was worth was the revenue it generated for the centre — the conditions of its citizens be damned.

Many cannot understand why Lahore and Islamabad are so beautifully maintained and Karachi looks worse than their step-relative. And we are told that Karachi is the Business Capital of Pakistan and larger than 87 countries of the UN! What kind of politics has been plaguing our city is an answer one has been in search of for quite some time. But behold! It is politics of a different kind which has suddenly brought our city into the limelight, and now each central character is bent upon outdoing the other to revamp Karachi. Even our esteemed president has given specific outlines to the many departments handling the city’s infrastructure (the KESC, for one) to ‘shape up their act’ as he would like to see Karachi as equivalent to Dubai, KL or Singapore perhaps? Well, whether it was strategy (a word otherwise quite alien to our government officials) or simply the Karachi Nazim’s goodwill and results which have set the ball rolling, the Boss’s orders are seemingly being implemented.

Our CM actually argued (begged?) with the federal finance minister (also estimable) for extended allocation of funds for Sindh for ‘timely completion of projects in the province’. It is beside the point that the request was summarily dismissed by the FM and the CM was politely asked to ‘increase revenue generation of the province to divert funds for its development projects’. The Sindh chief minister must at least be given credit for taking up the issue at the Federal level.

So, with the Karachi Nazim beginning the race of who does most for Karachi, we the citizens are becoming the happy recipients of much desired attention for our city’s welfare. And in tandem go statements from all the above mentioned messiahs that there is much harmony between these respective authorities, namely, the city government, the provincial government and the governor of Sindh, as the welfare of the province is dear to all these groups — though on the sidelines we continue to witness rows between the parties these functionaries belong to. Often, the MQM is seen launching ‘a frontal attack’ on the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) for slandering the former by accusing it of collecting ‘bhatta’ whereas the JI is accused of swindling innocent people in the name of jihad (some things never/can’t change!).

Notwithstanding the sideline show, we sincerely hope that it is with all sincerity that the Sindh chief minister has called Governor Ishratul Ibad his brother and companion in working for Sindh and that the Nazim truly loves Karachi to work for it undaunted. Because otherwise, the local bodies structure and the provincial set up is so complicated that it is difficult to assess where to put the onus of work undone.

The confusion increases as there are areas separately coming under the Cantonment, the DHA and even the Navy. One is not clear where the town Nazim’s jurisdiction begins (or ends) and where the city Nazim’s role comes in. Because of this anomaly, there are still many localities where rehabilitation of roads and sewerage systems has not taken place and the denizens are still suffering pitiably. The pathetic state of Karachi’s traffic too has not been addressed yet, and one sincerely hopes it doesn’t get ignored in the squabble of ‘that’s not my job’!

To end on an optimistic note: it is hoped that finally, Karachi will end up being the beneficiary, driven by the new found competitive streak in those manning its infrastructural outlets. And a small cheer for the Nazim for starting the race!