By Amjad QaimKhani
For generations, Karachi stood as Pakistan’s greatest urban success story. It was the country’s commercial capital, its busiest port city, and the engine that powered national economic growth. People from every province arrived in search of opportunity, contributing to a dynamic, diverse and entrepreneurial metropolis that symbolised aspiration and progress. Today, however, that image has been replaced by a far more troubling reality. Karachi, despite remaining the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, is increasingly associated with decaying infrastructure, failing public services, political dysfunction and declining quality of life.
The deterioration of Pakistan’s largest city has not occurred overnight. It is the result of years of neglect, poor planning, institutional weakness and political conflict. What was once regarded as one of South Asia’s most vibrant urban centres now struggles to provide even the most basic services to its rapidly growing population. The consequences are visible in almost every corner of the city and are experienced daily by millions of residents.
The scale of Karachi’s challenges reflects the scale of its growth. Over the past two decades, the city’s population has expanded dramatically, with estimates placing the number of residents above 30 million. Such growth would test the capacity of even the most efficiently managed cities. Yet Karachi’s infrastructure has failed to keep pace with rising demand. Roads are damaged and overcrowded, public transport remains inadequate, and traffic congestion has become an exhausting feature of daily life. Commuters spend hours travelling distances that should take minutes, while businesses suffer the economic cost of inefficiency and lost productivity.
Water has become perhaps the most visible symbol of Karachi’s urban crisis. Large sections of the city continue to face chronic shortages despite repeated promises of improvement. In many neighbourhoods, residents receive water only intermittently and often rely on expensive private tankers to meet their basic needs. The situation has created frustration, inequality and distrust in public institutions. Major infrastructure projects intended to address these shortages have repeatedly encountered delays, escalating costs and administrative complications, leaving citizens questioning whether meaningful solutions will ever materialise.
Equally troubling is the state of sanitation and drainage. Overflowing sewage, blocked drains and poor waste management have become common features of the urban landscape. During the monsoon season, these weaknesses are exposed with alarming clarity as roads flood, neighbourhoods become inaccessible and public health risks increase. A city that generates a substantial share of Pakistan’s economic activity should not be struggling with such fundamental challenges in the twenty-first century.
Environmental degradation has compounded these difficulties. Green spaces have steadily disappeared under the pressure of unregulated expansion. Encroachments, unplanned settlements and weak enforcement of urban planning regulations have transformed large parts of the city into a patchwork of poorly connected and inadequately serviced communities. As temperatures rise and climate-related challenges become more severe, Karachi’s vulnerability continues to increase.
The political dimensions of the crisis cannot be ignored. Since 2008, the provincial government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party has exercised authority over Sindh, including Karachi. Opposition parties, particularly Jamaat-e-Islami and various factions of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, have consistently accused the provincial administration of corruption, mismanagement and neglect. They argue that vast sums allocated for development projects have failed to produce visible improvements in civic infrastructure and public services. Allegations regarding wasteful spending, inefficiency and lack of accountability have become recurring themes in political debate.
The provincial government rejects these accusations and frequently points to resource constraints, institutional complexities and inadequate cooperation from successive federal administrations. It argues that Karachi’s problems are rooted in decades of accumulated neglect rather than the actions of any single government. While these arguments contain elements of truth, they do not alter the reality experienced by citizens. After nearly two decades of continuous provincial rule, many of the city’s most pressing problems remain unresolved, fuelling public dissatisfaction and raising legitimate questions about governance and accountability.
At the same time, Karachi’s political representation has undergone profound changes. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, once the dominant force in urban Sindh politics and the principal voice of Karachi’s middle classes, has experienced years of fragmentation and internal conflict. Repeated divisions weakened its organisational strength and diminished its influence in local governance. As political rivalries intensified, effective advocacy for the city often gave way to factional disputes and power struggles. The resulting vacuum has left many residents feeling politically disconnected and inadequately represented.
Yet responsibility for Karachi’s decline cannot be assigned solely to provincial authorities or local political actors. Successive federal governments have also failed to develop and sustain a comprehensive strategy for the country’s most important economic centre. Although several high-profile projects have been announced and some have reached completion, broader coordination between federal, provincial and local institutions has remained inconsistent. Political competition has too often replaced cooperation, with different tiers of government engaging in blame games rather than pursuing shared solutions.
The greatest victims of this dysfunction are the people of Karachi themselves. Residents endure daily hardships that would be unacceptable in any major global city. Water shortages, electricity disruptions, inadequate transport, deteriorating public spaces, unemployment and concerns about security have collectively eroded public confidence. Many citizens no longer expect meaningful change. Among younger generations, especially educated professionals, migration increasingly appears to be a more realistic option than waiting for reforms that never arrive.
(The writer is a senior US-based Pakistani journalist who writes on political and social issues and can be reached at editorial@metro-morning.com.)
