THIS is perhaps worse than a Shakespearean tragedy. Perhaps the shifting of the capital from Karachi to Islamabad was the last nail in Karachi’s proverbial coffin. No party is willing to own either Karachi or Sindh. The chief minister seems to have his hands tied too.

Why does Karachi’s voice remain unheard of by the Centre even after contributing over 70 per cent to the national exchequer?

There has been no population control programme for years to control the average family size where having 6-7 children is the norm.

As far as education is concerned, the less said the better. The educational institutions have promoted class discrimination rather than social integration.

When it comes to garbage on the streets, the government finds it convenient to allow it to rot where it lies even if it causes disease and death.

Why, if I may ask, is there no think tank in the country?

Grey rightly said in his elegy, ‘Full many a flower is born to blush unseen; And waste its sweetness on the desert air’. We, too, have no regard for the wise among us. They remain ‘outsiders’.

Unless the government decides to have smaller provinces, there will be no sustainable development.

As far as Karachi’s future is concerned, in all probability, the status quo will continue and that, unfortunately, is what the Karachiites will have to learn to live with.

Parveen Rahim

Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2020