KARACHI: “With 90 per cent of the population coming to Karachi to find jobs, the city has become culturally diverse but civic responsibility is still not present. Why can’t everyone, including those originating from other cities, take Karachi as their own?”

This was said by Deepak Parwani, one of the ambassadors of ‘I Am Karachi’ in an event at Frere Hall that was dedicated to striving for a peaceful city.

With the ongoing intolerance, fragmentation and a sense of insecurity plaguing the country, mobilising people into taking ownership has become more important than ever. With this premise in mind, I Am Karachi launched its campaign to pledge for a united, peaceful and tolerant Karachi.

The consortium, which consists of ‘I Am Karachi’s’ founding members, earmarked the second Sunday of every March in the coming years to be dedicated to Karachi. Ghazi Salahuddin, one of the members of the consortium and also part of their dialogue committee, spoke about the idea behind it: “With the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud it has become even more important for us to promote dialogue; somebody needs to take it up.”

Contraction of public spaces, mistrust between people and aloofness is what the campaign aims to bridge by providing a platform for social and cultural activities to thrive.

For the president of the consortium, Jameel Yusuf, it was not at all difficult to find ambassadors and philanthropists who would be interested in promoting the cause. “There were already many small groups of civil society members working in different areas of the city, all we had to do was unite them under one banner.”

The entire event was dedicated to the late Sabeen Mahmud, who was remembered by the ambassadors and tributes were paid to her. “We had two choices, either to postpone this event or cancel it altogether. Had we cancelled it, the people who are behind the murder will have been victorious. How many will they kill and silence?” said Yusuf in his opening speech.

Sidra Iqbal, who moderated the event, juxtaposed Karachi with Ms Sabeen: “She represented exactly what we want the city to be, pluralistic, diverse, encompassing and a safe haven where we could speak.”

While discussion continued for the need to be harmonious in the wake of sectarian attack and religious polarisation, a part of the speech by Quaid-i-Azam was read out by his grandnephew Liaquat Merchant, which accentuated his stance on religious freedom. “There will no distinction between one community and another. We are all citizens and equal citizens of one state” were the words that resonated amongst the audience, serving as a reminder of what the founder had envisioned.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the president ‘I Am Karachi’ and Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui which marked the official pledge to safeguard the city.

The commissioner encouraged the public to report crime or suspicious activity when they see it. “Email the authorities, make an anonymous call but notify us if you see someone disrupting peace in the city,” said Siddiqui.

Talat Hussain, also one of the ambassadors for the cause, read out the pledge which was undertaken by everyone in the audience, the gist of it being: to be a peaceful citizen, to respect people’s lives, to not discriminate against any citizen, to solve all problems peacefully, to do everything in their capacity to make the city that Quaid wanted.

An ‘I Am Karachi’ app was also launched at the event which boasted numerous security features including crime reporting, a rescue button which sends the location of the person to their family members, and contact directory of over a thousand organisations.

A musical concert by Fuzon band, Shahzad Roy and folk singer Mai Dhai was also organised.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2015

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