Karachi among most cities in Pakistan on their knees

In a video that went viral recently, a young man is seen sitting on his bike outside the Karachi Mayor’s office. The road is flooded with dirty water. “You know MF? They are all MF,” he says, referring to political leaders. He was hailed “a Karachi hero” on Twitter for expressing his anger towards the city’s rulers as Karachi was battling many odds. In the latest, heavy monsoon rains have left large parts of the city, the largest in Pakistan and the capital of Sindh, under water, killing at least a dozen people.The Sindh province is ruled by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), while the city’s local council is controlled by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The MQM’s Wasim Akhtar is the city Mayor. In the 2018 elections, 13 out of 21 National Assembly seats of Karachi were won by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan’s party.Murtaza Wahab, a spokesperson and adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, said the PPP did everything possible to help the city. “We were out on the roads when the rains started. We helped clear the roads. We did all that we could.”Under the Sindh Local Government Act, the responsibility of cleaning the drains lies with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Mr. Wahab told The Hindu. “When something bad happens, he [Karachi Mayor] says he doesn’t have any power and blames the Sindh government, but when something good happens, he is always there to take credit.”The August floods are just one of the many problems Karachi, with a population of about 15 million, is battling. In the words of Mayor Akhtar, there are mountains of trash everywhere; dozens of people have lost their lives after being electrocuted; water is contaminated, the sewerage system is bad and the city’s public transport system is inadequate. “Karachi is a city of misfortune,” Mr. Akhtar toldMayor Akhtar said the city is being neglected by the Sindh government. “Karachi generates 95% revenue for the Sindh government, but the treatment it gets is abominable. I have declared it an ‘aafat zada shehr’ [crisis-stricken city],” Mr. Akhtar said. He added that all parties must rise above petty politics and find a solution to Karachi’s problems.The Mayor pointed out that the PPP has been ruling the province for 10 years. “After the 18th Amendment, it was the PPP’s responsibility to take care of Karachi, but they are only interested in making money.” Mr. Akhtar has appealed to the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and the Army chief to intervene and take Karachi seriously.