WITH the federal government’s long-awaited nod to the Karachi Circular Railway project, the final bureaucratic hurdle has been removed for Karachi citizens who can now expect to see a modernised public transport sector. Buoyed by the success of the commercial launch of the Green Line BRT in January, the PTI-led federal government hopes to redeem itself in Karachi through the execution of the KCR project worth over Rs2bn. This was evident in the statements of the PTI leadership who described the release of funds for the project as evidence of their commitment to the people of Karachi. Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar tweeted that “the people of Karachi would also get the latest and world class travelling service. The PTI has justified its mandate from Karachi in true spirit”. Though the timing of the approval may raise a few eyebrows, it should be recalled that both the federation and Sindh had been making gradual efforts to breathe life into the KCR for some time. Prime Minister Imran Khan performed the ground-breaking ceremony in September 2021, while the provincial government has been busy removing encroachments along the KCR route for over a year. The authorities plan to rebuild the 44-km KCR track and supporting infrastructure within three years, before handing these over to a private company for daily operations.

However, it remains to be seen if the current political climate allows for the swift execution of the mass transit project in the megapolis. It is unfortunate that in Pakistan, development schemes are usually the first casualty of political tug of wars, a trait that has especially come to define relations between the PTI-led centre and the Sindh government. This was evident in the recent turf war over three tertiary-care hospitals in Karachi. Irrespective of the outcome of the present stand-off in Islamabad, all stakeholders should protect developing schemes from the political crossfire. The people of Karachi need a viable solution to their mass transit woes — more than just words or schemes on paper.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022