By Amir Zia
Monthly Newsline
October 2019
A grand consensus is
needed among them to introduce the necessary reforms that must include
bringing unity of command to manage the affairs of Karachi and giving the
local government system administrative and financial powers.
Federal Law Minister
Farogh Naseem created an unnecessary controversy last month by suggesting that
Article 149 of the Constitution needs to be invoked in Sindh to improve
Karachi’s deteriorating civic services and address its myriad problems.
And as expected, this mere suggestion of
dragging in the Centre to manage Karachi – currently the domain of the
provincial government – resulted in a short-lived emotional outburst from
various stakeholders, which took the attention away from the festering civic
problems of this mega-city and, instead, thrust a non-issue centre-stage – at
least in the media. What’s more, this storm in a tea-cup wasn’t even worth it.
To begin with, the law minister’s statement
was nothing but a half-baked proposal, which led to various interpretations,
one being that the Centre was planning to take over the affairs of the city. If
truth be told, it articulated the desire of the law minister’s own party, the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which is a junior partner in the ruling
coalition. But this proposal – if it can be called one – had no serious
backers, even within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Most senior PTI politicians, including
Prime Minister Imran Khan, know that even a symbolic attempt to give a special
status to Karachi will be seen by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and other
forces in Sindh as an attempt to divide the province – a highly emotive issue.
And in these testing times, such a step would only stoke more trouble and
instability. In essence, the law minister’s proposal was a non-starter from the
word go.
The federal government bungled a laudable
initiative – the formation of a committee by the prime minister to suggest
short-, medium- and long-term steps for the uplift of the city – that should
have taken off smoothly and brought some relief and good news for the country’s
restive commercial and industrial hub.
The centre made this committee – headed by
the law minister – controversial, as it did not include any representative of
the Sindh provincial government in it. Had saner minds prevailed, this
committee would have included the Sindh Chief Minister or his nominee (a
provincial local government minister) as a member. But a myopic political
mindset prevented the federal government from taking such a step. When a senior
PTI leader was asked about the omission of a member of the Sindh government, he
provided a flimsy excuse: “The Peoples’ Party is responsible for Karachi’s
mess; what’s the point of including any PPP member?”
Today’s Karachi is a mega-mess. And all
stakeholders, including the three main parties representing this city in Parliament,
are responsible for its plight. Consequently, all stakeholders must be
absolutely clear in their minds that none of them in isolation is in a position
to solve Karachi’s problems.
A grand consensus is
needed among them to introduce the necessary reforms, that must include
bringing unity of command to manage the affairs of the city and giving the
local government system administrative and financial powers. Of course these
reforms should be strictly monitored by the provincial and federal governments,
if they are serious about saving the city, which only recently has been ranked
as one of the 10 most unlivable cities in the world by the prestigious The Economist’s Intelligence Unit.
Unfortunately, so far the politicians have
only resorted to mudslinging against each other, instead of setting aside their
narrow political and financial interests and putting their heads together for
the sake of the city and its citizens.
Even now, the federal government can take
the lead in fixing Karachi’s problems, but this task cannot be accomplished by
staging a hostile take-over. A lot of give and take, political maturity and
sagacity is required to bring all the stakeholders to the table and come up
with tangible recommendations aimed at reforms and the betterment of Karachi.
Unfortunately, a sincere debate, discussion
and the will to change is nowhere on the cards.
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