How To Make Karachi The Worst City In The World

The recent report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) revealed that Karachi came 5th in the list of worst cities of the world sandwiched between Lagos, Nigeria and Douala Cameroon.

The Sindh High Density Development Board Bill 2010 passed as Bill No.14 of 2010 has changed its shape three times. It was first Bill No.11 of 2009 then it became Bill No.10 of 2010 and finally it is Bill No.14 of 2010.

The provincial government deserves “congratulations” on passing the passing of this bill. This law will surely push Karachi to the bottom ranking as the worst city in the world very soon. Sadly through this bill the interior of Sindh will also be destroyed. The passing has been done in a devious manner, which is expected of the Parliamentarians representing us.

In 2008 our ever smiling president Asif Ali Zardari decided that Karachi must have many high-rises along the line of his second home Dubai. In August 2008 a decision was made by the minister for the local Government, Mr Agha Siraj Durrani (who is the right hand man of Mr Zardari in Sindh for such matters) that KBCA should approve 100 storey buildings in Karachi. Fortunately this was easier said than done as the government had to constitute and notify a committee of eleven architects. The committee was tasked to review of the existing bye-laws and the proposed revisions

This committee was notified by the KBCA who acted beyond of its jurisdiction simply at the behest of Mr Agha Siraj Durrani who presently heads KBCA. In spite of the manipulations by the politicians this committee did a good job and made valuable recommendations (which have now been rejected by our political masters)

Shehri along with architects, town planners, academia, members of the notified committee made a detailed presentation to the parliamentary standing committee on Local Government on 17th October 2009 in the Sindh Assembly Committee room on this bill. At that time Haji Manawar Ali Abbasi, Chairman Standing Committee on Local Government accepted and agreed with recommendations and made the changes in Bill No. 11 of 2009 and presented it to the house on 19th October 2009. This bill was deferred for seven months because it made the proposed law transparent and clear. On 22nd May 2010, the bill resurfaced and reintroduced as Bill No.10 of 2010. It was stripped of its transparency and accountability. Its reintroduction was done quietly and surreptitiously. However on the same day strangely enough Mr Agha Siraj Durrani the Minister for Local Government announced that the bill was withdrawn. Our sources informed us that the other coalition partners needed further clarification about the distribution of resources. Allegedly a backdoor “deal” was struck and lo and behold on 31 May 2010 the same bill was passed as Bill 14 of 2010 without a whimper from any quarter.

The new bill is highway robbery. It has 8 members of the government, there is no representation from civil society, from professional bodies i.e. IAP, PCATP, PEC or from NGOs who are working in this field. The identification of high density zones will be done by these eight members and the “government” has been given the power to make rules, whereas in the original bill 11 of 2010, the high density zones were identified, the terms of reference of the board was clearly stated even the quorum to pass any decision was laid out.

The original bill was not passed because it was transparent and would have cut down on political corruption. This new bill gives the unholy alliance of the politicians and bureaucrats complete authority to do as whatever they want.

Publilius Syrus stated “Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything”. Our politicians with their natural inclination for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power will cheerfully destroy Karachi with this ill conceived bill.

For the citizens only hope is left to once again knock on the door of the superior judiciary to save the city from these dacoits who are disguised as parliamentarians.


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17 responses to “How To Make Karachi The Worst City In The World”

  1. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Asif Ali Zardari decided that Karachi must have many high-rises along the line of his second home Dubai

    ——————————

    Real Dubai is as under: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/04/28/slow-ref

    1. Al Avatar
      Al

      @Mughal: Actually isn't that the Karachi that Zardari & Altaf Hussain would probably like to build – a superficial playground for the rich & powerful built on the sweat of poor & exploited workers.

      I know they would certainly like to have the kind of absolute authority that Sheikh Muhammad enjoys there.

      The same could be said of other politicians & other cities so i am not particularly targeting anyone.

    2. Aamir Mughal Avatar

      What is Pakistani Government doing? Nothing because Zardari is friend of Sheikh Mohammad and Zardari's family is living in Dubai!!! For months, the BBC’s Ben Anderson hung out around the glittering, insane towers springing up in Dubai trying to infiltrate the community of expatriate workers who are putting them up. What he found when he finally got in was that the jewel of the Arab world is almost entirely built upon imported slave labor. http://www.vbs.tv/watch/vbs-news/the-slaves-of-du

    3. Aamir Mughal Avatar

      The oil producing states of the Gulf combine tribalism, feudalism and rentier capitalism to produce an egregiously oppressive socio-economic order

      A few days ago my older son wrote to me from Stockholm to convey his shock over a short documentary he saw by BBC’s Ben Anderson entitled ‘The Slaves of Dubai’. It is about the heart-wrenching plight of South Asian workers who arrive in Dubai in the hope of alleviating the abject poverty they are born in but end up becoming virtually bonded labour. They can also be called slaves. He wrote: “I was really shocked and upset about their situation. If you have not already written about it, can you please do it in your next column?”

      VIEW: South Asian slaves in Dubai —Ishtiaq Ahmed Tuesday, June 15, 2010
      http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=201

    4. Al Avatar
      Al

      Mughal: Nice documentary.

    5. Aamir Mughal Avatar

      There must be one on Saudi Arabia and their treatment with the poor people [mostly Labour and very hard working people] from Pakistan-India-Bangladesh.

    6. Aamir Mughal Avatar

      Al says: June 20, 2010 at 7:03 pm Mughal: Nice documentary.

      =====================

      What UAE is? In realty!

      United Arab Emirates – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/uae_aps.doc

      Personal liberties

      • The constitution provides for equality before the law without regard to race, nationality, or religion. In practice there is discrimination against non-citizens in most areas of life including employment, housing, and healthcare.

      • The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press. In practice these rights are restricted by the government.

      • The constitution prohibits torture and unlawful or arbitrary arrest, search, detention, or imprisonment. Suspects in custody can formally be detained without charge indefinitely and are not entitled to legal counsel until an investigation is completed. The law also permits incommunicado detention. Sharia courts sometimes impose flogging sentences on those found guilty of adultery, prostitution, and drug abuse.

      • The constitution provides for freedom of religion. In practice there are restrictions on this right. The constitution declares that Islam is the official religion of all seven emirates. Proselytizing of Muslims is illegal and it is prohibited for Muslims to convert to other religions. The government controls and subsidizes almost all Sunni and Shiite mosques and distributes and monitors the sermons of all Sunni imams. The 2004 International Religious Freedom Report provides a more detailed discussion of religious freedom in the UAE.

      • The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch provides a comprehensive overview of human rights developments in the UAE.

  2. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Real Dubai: The dark side of Dubai Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging. Johann Hari reports Tuesday, 7 April 2009
    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators

  3. Bilal Hashim Avatar
    Bilal Hashim

    Why doesn't this news make it to the mainstream media…seriously i mean there are lot of real issues out there that they can sell and make the life of the common man better than before 🙁

    1. Al Avatar
      Al

      It has. Read Cowasjee's article in Sunday's Dawn.

  4. Nazia Avatar
    Nazia

    Shocking eyeopening realistic report for mqm management who is claiming from Karachi to Washington that under their control and city management programs Karachi has achieved all kinds of standard civic code.

    Zardari and altaf hussain controlling all Karachi politics through brotherhood ties are clear examples of alien leadership ruling in Pakistan.

    I am sure he and his cronies are unaware that Karachi is located in the vicinity of active geological faults, and under constant threat of an earthquake.

    Oct 08 tremors has also given a wake up call to the country as to how much vulnerable the people’s lives, abodes and livelihoods are due to absence of any integrated disaster management plan. Here is majority construction found in vast areas of gulistan jahur, gulshan jamal .It is strongly observed that construction codes and emergency exits plans in case of strong earth quake are nonexistent, or criminally violated. It is also apprehended in many technical reports that if mushrooming construction of inferior quality continues unchecked, half the newly constructed buildings will crumble in 20-30 years with just a moderate earthquake hitting the region.

    Judiciary no way is that only state force that is trying to create hurdles against this strong land and builder mafia which have been raised their heads up to monsters under military period.

    Musharf and kiyani's all near kins like our political representatives are invloved in big land, buildings and resorts scams.That is why different kinds of tactics are invloved to degrade the judges and judiciary in all kind of state level.

  5. Syed Nadir El Edroos Avatar

    Bloody frustrating! Will some high rise buildings make everything rosy? Idiots! This is as bad as sucking at the bosom of tax payers wealth for ones own privilege! http://tinyurl.com/2unqhw2

  6. Hira Mir Avatar

    Sadly Karachi is pushed to no.5. Security is one of the main reasons as well. Terrorist have hit the economic capital of the country and have hit it real hard. We all must unite and work on helping our country to get back the lost fame.

    1. Bilal Hashim Avatar
      Bilal Hashim

      the real manifestation of terrorism are the street crimes, dacoities, power theft and distribution losses, inequitable distribution of wealth, injustice, bribery…these and other other social evils affect everyone and remains unchecked, neglected and often under the supervision of the concerned authorities and under the nose of the society as a whole…i dunno when will we ever learn to fix the major causes of the disease rather keep on taking paracetamol to fix the symptoms.

  7. khalid humayun Avatar

    The blogger has only talked about bills and based his critics on Bill #14 of 2010 without describing its contents. In the absence of the script of the bill, I can not make much comment. However, the blogger has said in so many words that a body has been formed comprising of "government persons". Since the bill has been passed in the Sind Assembly, and government has the responsibility to implement the same, it is their prerogation to assign members from their quarters to keep the integrity and efficacious implementation of the bill. But, there is a big difference between the "looking after body" and "task force". The technocrats and expertise enter when task force is formed. I think, the blogger has erred in the judgment.

    About the corruption and plunder, yes Pakistan has a track record of 60 years in this area, but to predict corruption before a single dime is spent on the project/s, is like putting the cart before the horse. No project would materliaze if we keep shouting "corruption and loot" before the word go – corruption is in vogue but it is also true at this point in time corruption cry has become fashion. Any project is announced, the mushroom of articles would surface describing the corruption.

  8. Sincere Pakistani Avatar

    No doubt Zardari & his team specially Interior minister of sindh and Altaf Hussain's team ( through bhatta) have made Karachi the worst city in the world.MQM who proclaimed to be the middle class & poor people party have two faces, one showing sympathy with Karachi peoples on the other side recovering regularly BHATTA by force from the people of Karachi. Responsibilty for making Karachi worst city lies on Zardari & Altaf, both are fully responsible.

  9. Shane Lossing Avatar

    I smoked cigarettes for most of my life. I realize it affects my overall health therefore I want to quit smoking though it's been very hard. None of the stop smoking methods worked for me. Then I discovered the smokeless cigarette. It has honestly made all the difference. No more inhaling and exhaling toxic chemicals feels wonderful!