{"id":2046,"date":"2026-10-02T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2026-10-02T13:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:04:00","slug":"karachi-needs-a-stronger-sense-of-ownership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2046","title":{"rendered":"Karachi needs a stronger sense of ownership"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Karachi is a city that always could surprise people. It is noisy, restless, crowded and sometimes chaotic, yet it has a character that few other cities in Pakistan can match.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a city of the sea, of old neighbourhoods and modern towers, of narrow streets and wide avenues, of markets that never seem to sleep and of people who arrive every day in search of work, education and a better life.<\/p>\n

Karachi has welcomed people from almost every part of Pakistan. It has given them but they could not always received the respect and care it deserves.<\/p>\n

One of Karachi\u2019s greatest problems is the lack of ownership that people do not show towards the city. This cannot be blamed only on migrants, because the vast majority of the people who come to Karachi from other parts of the country work hard, raise families, run businesses and become an important part of the city\u2019s social and economic life.<\/p>\n

Many families lived here for generations and consider Karachi their home. At the same time, both newcomers and long-term residents have a responsibility to respect the city, follow its rules and take care of its streets, parks and other public spaces.<\/p>\n

The real problem is not where a person comes from, but an attitude in which public spaces are treated as if they belong to nobody and there are few consequences for damaging or misusing them. Karachi will only improve when everyone who lives here, whether they arrived from other provinces or have lived here for generations, accepts responsibility for keeping the city clean, orderly and liveable.<\/p>\n

This attitude can be seen in everyday behaviour. People throw garbage into streets, parks, drains and empty plots instead of using bins. Plastic bags and bottles are left behind after gatherings. Walls are covered with advertisements, political slogans and unauthorised posters. Traffic rules are ignored, pavements are occupied and public property is sometimes damaged without a second thought.<\/p>\n

In some areas, roads are treated as private spaces, while footpaths become extensions of shops and houses. Such a behaviour is not limited to newcomers, of course. Karachi\u2019s own long-term residents are also responsible for many of these problems. But the rapid arrival of people who have little connection with the city\u2019s history and public institutions can add to the pressure on an already poorly managed urban environment.<\/p>\n

There is also a deeper cultural problem. A city can only remain clean and attractive when its residents feel that they have a responsibility towards it. Unfortunately, many people think that cleanliness is solely the government\u2019s responsibility. A government certainly has a duty to provide services, but the citizens also have a duty not to make those services impossible to maintain.<\/p>\n

Karachi\u2019s beauty has suffered badly from this combination of public carelessness and official indifference. It is difficult to understand how a city blessed with the Arabian Sea, beaches, historic buildings, wide roads and distinctive neighbourhoods has been allowed to become so visually unpleasant in many places. The coastline, which should be one of the city\u2019s greatest assets, has repeatedly suffered from pollution. Parks that could provide the much-needed green spaces have often been neglected. Historic buildings have deteriorated, while uncontrolled commercial activity has changed the character of older parts of the city.<\/p>\n

The saddest part is that the decline did not happen overnight. It has been the result of decades of poor planning, weak enforcement, political disputes, corruption allegations, administrative confusion and a lack of continuity between successive governments. Different administrations have promised to transform Karachi, but many projects have either remained incomplete, been poorly maintained or disappeared when political priorities changed.<\/p>\n

Karachi\u2019s complicated system of government has made matters worse. Responsibilities are divided between federal, provincial and local authorities, while different political parties and institutions have frequently disagreed over who should control resources and decision-making.<\/p>\n

The ordinary citizen is often left wondering whom to hold responsible. When a road is broken, a drain is blocked, a park is neglected or a heritage building is falling apart, the responsibility can move from one institution to another. In the meantime, the problem remains. The result is a city that often looks as though nobody is truly in charge.<\/p>\n

This is unfortunate because Karachi is not an ordinary Pakistani city. It is the country\u2019s largest urban centre and its commercial and financial heart. Its port, industries, markets, offices and businesses contribute enormously to the national economy. Millions of people depend directly or indirectly on the city. If Karachi is unhealthy, badly planned and unattractive, the consequences are felt far beyond its municipal boundaries.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, successive governments have made a serious mistake by treating Karachi as a source of revenue and votes rather than as a living city requiring long-term investment. Roads and flyovers may be necessary, but a successful city cannot be built from concrete alone. It needs trees, parks, clean beaches, reliable public transport, pedestrian spaces, functioning drainage, attractive public areas and protection for its historic architecture. It also needs proper waste collection and, just as importantly, an effective system for preventing people from dumping garbage in the first place.<\/p>\n

Law-enforcement has an important role as well. Rules mean little when they are not enforced. If somebody can occupy a footpath, throw waste into a drain, build illegally on public land or damage public property without consequences, other people quickly learn that the rules do not matter. Over time, bad behaviour becomes normal behaviour.<\/p>\n

Yet, government action alone cannot restore Karachi. Citizens must also change their relationship with the city. Anyone who lives in Karachi, regardless of whether they were born here or arrived from elsewhere, should understand that public space is a shared space. A road, park, beach or footpath does not belong to the government alone. It belongs to everyone who uses it. Damaging it is an act of damage against one\u2019s own community.<\/p>\n

People who come from other provinces should not be treated as outsiders. Karachi has always been a city of migrants, and its history is inseparable from the people who came here from different parts of Pakistan and the wider region. Its diversity is one of its strengths. But the newcomers, like everyone else, should respect the laws, customs and public spaces of the city in which they choose to live.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Karachi\u2019s established residents cannot demand good behaviour from the migrants, while ignoring their own responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The city also needs a change in political thinking. Governments should stop treating urban development as a collection of short-term schemes designed to create headlines. Karachi needs a long-term master plan that survives changes of government. It needs clear lines of authority, stable funding for the local government and professional urban management. Parks, roads, drains and public buildings require regular maintenance, not occasional attention when a crisis becomes impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Karachi needs to recover a sense of civic pride. There was a time when the city was known for its gardens, public spaces, distinctive architecture and lively but orderly commercial districts. Restoring that character will not be easy, but neither is it impossible. Cities around the world have revived neglected waterfronts, restored historic districts, expanded green spaces and improved public transport when governments and citizens worked together. Karachi deserves the same determination.<\/p>\n

The city should not be blamed on the people who have migrated to it, nor should its decline be blamed entirely on governments. Both citizens and authorities have played a part in what Karachi has become. Some residents have shown little respect for public spaces, while successive governments have too often shown little consistency in protecting them. The result is a vicious circle in which neglected public spaces encourage careless behaviour, while careless behaviour gives authorities an excuse to neglect them further.<\/p>\n

Breaking that circle requires responsibility from everyone. The government must govern properly, enforce the law and protect the city\u2019s environment and heritage. Citizens must stop treating streets, parks and beaches as dumping grounds. Businesses must respect public spaces rather than occupying them without permission. New residents must understand that becoming part of Karachi also means accepting responsibility for its future. Long-term residents must do the same.<\/p>\n

Karachi is not beyond repair. Its problems are enormous, but so is its potential. The city has energy, talent, enterprise and a remarkable ability to absorb people from different backgrounds. What it lacks is sustained attention and a shared sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n

It does not need endless promises. It needs clean streets, functioning institutions, responsible citizens, effective enforcement and governments that remain committed after the cameras have gone away. Above all, it needs people to understand that a city is not merely a collection of buildings and roads. It is a shared home.<\/p>\n

Despite everything that has been done to it, Karachi is still a home worth living in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karachi is a city that always could surprise people. It is noisy, restless, crowded and sometimes chaotic, yet it has a character that few other cities in Pakistan can match. It is a city of the sea, of old neighbourhoods and modern towers, of narrow streets and wide avenues, of markets that never seem to sleep and of people who arrive every day in search of work, education and a better life. Karachi has welcomed people from almost every part of Pakistan. It has given them but they could not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}