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LAHORE: Speakers at a conference were unanimous that exclusion of a large section of the population in urban centres from decision-making is minimising the possibilities of democratic accountability in the cities’ affairs.
Instead of representing the citizens, the public authorities, such as the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), are under the sway of big businesses and property developers. More worryingly, the speakers explained how the local government system has been completely hollowed out.
The conference, titled “The Right to the City–A Conference on Rights and Struggles in Urban Pakistan,” was held at the Research and Publication Centre under aegis of the Haqooq-i-Khalq Movement.
Dr Anushay Malik from LUMS described the history of the working class movements in Lahore. Ahsan Bhatti, a community organiser from Chungi Amar Sadhu, claimed there were two Lahores, one for the elite and the second for those who cannot even afford clean drinking water.
Professor Asdar Kamran from LUMS stressed the importance of reimagining the politics based on the experiences of the contemporary working class in order to expand decision-making in the city.
Aisha Ahmed explained how issues such as the right to housing and clean drinking water were the global issues and that outcome of struggles over these resources would determine the future of humanity on our planet.
Professor Ali Cheema lamented the fact there was very little public discussion on how to build a genuinely democratic and representative city government.
Ammar Rashid. Farooq Tariq, the spokesperson for the Awami Workers Party, Tooba Syed and Ammar Ali Jan also spoke.
Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2018
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