As mighty bulldozers trampled over whatever came in their way to clear shanties on the sides of Gujjar Nullah, terrified 12-year-old Rani ran around barefoot in desperation gathering her siblings to ensure that no one was left behind or lost when the family left the area in haste with the few belongings they could carry and no destination to guarantee shelter.

A perturbed senior town planner, who wished not to be named, termed the anti-encroachment drive a cruel exercise in futility that will achieve little beyond crushing the spirit of the people already condemned to the harsh living standards that this megacity offers.

“Clean and clear nadis (river tributaries) and nullahs (open drains) populated by the poorest of the poor as violently as you please, it is not going to serve the declared purpose — improving the drainage system of the city. The outfalls to the sea are blocked by ‘untouchables’. Can the moral brigade not see obstructions all through the city? Can they dare touch the naval officers’ housing society at the Mai Kolachi bypass or DHA encroachments on the seafront?”

The anti-encroachment drive in Karachi is a cruel exercise in futility that will achieve little beyond crushing the spirit of the people already condemned to poverty

“Anyone who cares can see the pattern. Whenever the rot in the system of governance in Karachi is exposed and voices demanding remedies grow louder, the powers that be spring into action against the most vulnerable. The forgotten people are found to be blamed and punished for the delay in the revival of Karachi Circular Railways, for defacing the city, for water theft, poor sewerage system, lawlessness, terrorism and anything and everything,” he mocked.

This time, the post-rain images of the city were hard to ignore for the PTI, the party that ‘won’ Karachi in the 2018 elections. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday announced a whopping Rs1.1 trillion Transformation Package and pledged to implement it through the nascent Provincial Coordination Implementation Committee (PCIC) supervised by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. He also mentioned the army’s role. Further details of the package will become clear over time. How far the current initiative can go in redressing the chronic municipal and infrastructural issues of the city is hard to predict but it has sparked some hope.

Contradicting the dominant perception that complexity, size and funds’ scarcity render Karachi unliveable, he claimed that all the city needs is a technically sound master plan and a credible mayor to whom all civic bodies report.

Currently, an area of 3,780 square-kilometres of Karachi falls in the jurisdiction of federal, provincial and city governments and defence services and is managed by 14 administrative entities. Over the past few years, the already meagre budget of Karachi has actually been chopped (see the chart).

“Answers are simple unless you intentionally complicate the key questions to veil the real motives,” another senior Karachiite noted.

Despite its litany of civic, social and political problems, Karachi continues to lead for its corporate presence, magnetic appeal for capital and talent, unmatched philanthropy and political influence. Most stakeholders approached for their input for the way forward agreed on the urgent need to end the neglect of the megacity.

The business leaders who participated in high-level meetings, particularly with the chief of army staff, to deal with the post-rain crisis in the city attempted to sound optimistic. They had nothing concrete to hang their hopes on. Over a dozen leaders representing the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), traders’ associations and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association attended it besides a broker and a realtor.

Two elite forums representing big business — Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Pakistan Business Council (PBC) — were not invited, it was confirmed.

“It was obvious that the army chief wished the business community to fix the infrastructure of Karachi. He mentioned Sialkot businessmen who built an airport and approaching roads there. How is this fair? Instead of doing business, we are now expected to do the government’s job? What do we pay all these taxes, surcharges and duties for?” a participant opened up but pleaded to carry a laudatory comment on his behalf.

Majyd Aziz, former president of the KCCI who has pursued the ‘My Karachi’ initiative since its inception 16 years back, supported the idea of a smart master plan developed by a team of independent technocrats as the first step towards building a better city.

FPCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar, inspired by the handling of the pandemic, supported the idea of a centralised body to trace, track and fix infrastructure and amenities gaps in Karachi under the supervision of the National Disaster Management Authority. “This city can’t be left unattended.”

He dismissed the claims of the champions of the city. “Karachi’s share in public revenue is overstated. People tend to forget that a port city collects customs duty etc from all importers, including those that are not based here. I am hopeful that something good will come out of the current efforts,” he told Dawn over the phone from Lahore.

“It is natural to focus on the aftereffects of a calamity, even if we have known all along about the poor state of Karachi’s infrastructure and the paralysis of successive administrations to bring a meaningful change, despite Karachi’s importance to the national economy.

“Be that as it may, it would be a tragedy to waste the current crisis with mere finger-pointing. We must start by recognising that climate change is a dangerous reality and if we are to withstand its effect, we have to address its causes as well as strengthen our weak infrastructure to minimise its impact. This will require local, provincial and federal governments to work together with businesses under a master plan to reduce the carbon footprint, deal with waste that clogs our waterways, build roads that withstand the test of nature, provide affordable land with adequate infrastructure to allow industry to relocate from congested areas, develop mass transit systems to facilitate the movement of labour and make the city’s power supply safe and reliable. A dividend will also be improved productivity and competitiveness. The way the country managed the Covid-19 crisis provides a model to emulate,” PBC CEO Ehsan Malik commented. It seems pertinent to add that local climate change activists focus on increasing climate justice versus reducing carbon footprint.

Zubair Tufail, former FPCCI president, stressed the need for improving governance to attract investment.

Asad Ali Shah, a chartered accountant and son of former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, was also reached for comments. He responded thus: “Constitutionally, Karachi will remain the responsibility of the Sindh government. Local government departments — KMC, DMCs, KDA, KWSB and SBCA — are unfortunately in a complete mess and need a major overhaul. The key part is posting the right people who can deliver. Karachi’s infrastructure and services can only improve if the provincial government so wishes and the federal government consents to collaborate with a changed mind set. Actually, it will serve interests of both the PPP and the PTI if they deliver.”

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 7th, 2020