WHILE meandering through the dusty, narrow and heavily encroached streets of interior of Sindh, I have extensively travelled across its cities and towns. Each journey leaves me overwhelmed with despair and frustration as I see crumbling infrastructure everywhere. I had always thought that Karachi, the so-called city of lights, would be an exception.

At the very least I expected its roads to be smooth. My recent visit to Karachi shattered this illusion. I found the city in a state worse than any small town in the interior of the province.

Uneven roads, deep potholes, missing patches and pools of stagnant water made even the shortest of journeys hazardous. Overflowing sewage and garbage dumps seem to be the basic characteristics of life in Karachi. There was utter neglect and decay just about everywhere.

Despite the challenges, the city conti-nues to feed millions. It has immense potential, but a city cannot thrive on potential alone; it needs a visionary leadership to progress.

Finally, urban challenges are overcome with meticulous planning, efficient governance and innovative solutions. This is where a leader must step in.

Qamer Soomro
Shikarpur

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2025