The collapse of Karachi’s civil authority in the face of devastating rains has led once again to calls for separating Karachi from Sindh and outrage against the local and state authorities. According to former Editor of Dawn, Abbas Nasir, “there will be a lot of news, and even greater outrage, about how tragically Karachi has been let down by all its stakeholders, with its citizens having been left at the mercy of nature, to fend for themselves. There will be suggestions that the 18th Amendment is the fountainhead of all evil.”
Nasir, however, cautions “In your anger and despair, you are right to feel whatever you do and say whatever you think is right. Beyond that let’s not be distracted by red herrings — whether of the separate province or repeal of the 18th Amendment. Slogans that trigger political acrimony, ethnic tension and potential strife can’t deliver solutions. What is incumbent on us is to hold to account each of those who have failed us and force them to deliver as they should. No excuses should be entertained.”
Nasir calls for “Consensus legislation. Admirable as it was watching the Sindh chief executive and his team, as also MQM local elected officials, wading through waist-deep water to get a first-hand understanding of the challenge and supervising relief efforts, their time is much better spent developing and executing plans to obviate such emergencies. Or we’ll be back to square one when the heavens open up the next time. Some experts say it would take 10 billion dollars to fix Karachi. Let’s see how many billions can be shaved off that if all stakeholders display political will and a commitment to the cause.”
