By Asghar Ali Mubarak
The idea of Lahore as a “safe city” did not collapse under the weight of crime statistics or terrorism. It fell, quite literally, into an open manhole. The deaths of a young mother and her infant daughter near Data Darbar are not just a tragic accident; they are a brutal indictment of an administration that has confused slogans with safety and optics with responsibility. In a city that proudly boasts of surveillance cameras and global safety rankings, two lives were lost because the most basic duty of governance was ignored: protecting people from preventable danger. The incident has shaken public confidence for a reason. An uncovered sewer hole, left open amid ongoing development work in one of Lahore’s most crowded and sensitive areas, became a death trap. What followed was not swift accountability or transparency, but denial, confusion and institutional defensiveness.
Before the rescue operation had even concluded, official statements were issued declaring the report “fake”. Technical arguments were offered to the media about how it was “impossible” for anyone to fall into the manhole. In the process, a grieving family was treated not as victims, but as suspects. Suspending a handful of officers after the fact may create the appearance of action, but it does not address the rot beneath the surface. Responsibility in such cases is not individual alone; it is systemic. Rescue 1122, WASA, TEPA, contractors, consultants and the district administration all form part of a chain of duty. When that chain breaks, people die. To pretend that the same institutions can meaningfully investigate themselves is to insult both logic and justice. A judicial commission, independent and empowered, is not a luxury here but a necessity.
What makes this tragedy particularly disturbing is the attempt to deflect blame rather than confront negligence. The initial arrest of the woman’s husband on the basis of speculative police narratives, later quietly walked back, added cruelty to grief. The family’s ordeal, including hours of uncertainty before the bodies were recovered, exposed a culture more concerned with managing headlines than saving lives. When rescue officials themselves appeared divided, sending contradictory audio messages and statements, the credibility of the entire response collapsed. In any society that claims to be civilized, the protection of life and property is the first obligation of the state. Laws are enacted not merely to punish crime, but to prevent harm. Causing death through criminal negligence is not an unfortunate mishap; it is culpable wrongdoing.
Pakistan’s penal code recognizes this distinction, yet enforcement remains selective and hesitant, especially when state institutions are involved. That hesitation is at the heart of poor governance. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has condemned the incident and ordered inquiries, suspensions and reports. These steps, while necessary, will ring hollow unless they lead to real accountability. Minute-by-minute briefings and emergency meetings cannot substitute for structural reform. The question the public is asking is simple: why was an open manhole left unguarded in the first place, and why did multiple agencies rush to deny the obvious instead of confronting their failure? The irony is painful. Only days earlier, officials had cited international surveys ranking Lahore among the world’s safer cities, even claiming it to be safer than London or New York.
The “safe city” project, built around cameras, control rooms and rapid police response, has undoubtedly improved law enforcement in certain respects. But safety is not only about crime prevention. It is also about infrastructure, lighting, maintenance and a culture of care. A camera cannot cover an open sewer. An algorithm cannot replace a missing manhole cover. Lahore’s tragedy also sits within a wider pattern of urban neglect across Pakistan. Just last week, a building collapse in Karachi killed dozens, reviving fears about unsafe structures and lax enforcement. In Lahore’s historic walled city, hundreds of buildings have been declared dangerous, yet many remain occupied.
Notices are issued, surveys conducted, banners displayed, but lives continue to be placed at risk. Development without safety is not progress; it is negligence dressed up as ambition. Justice for the victims will not bring them back. However, accountability may yet prevent the next manhole, the next collapse, the next avoidable death. A city that cannot protect its most vulnerable at its busiest crossroads has no right to boast of safety. Until governance moves from denial to responsibility, Lahore’s claim to be a safe city will remain buried, deep in the darkness of an open sewer.
(The writer is a senior journalist covering various beats, can be reached at editorial@metro-morning.com)
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