Residents of Karachi call for attention
While the concerned residents watch in silence, the city of Karachi falls from one low to another. Karachi, once hailed as the 'City of Lights' and the economic powerhouse of Pakistan, has once again been ranked among the bottom five of the world's least liveable cities in the 2025 Global Liveability Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The metropolis ranked 170 on a list of 173 countries — just above Dhaka, Tripoli and Damascus — and had a score of 42.7 on the index score, with a score of 100 being the 'most liveable'.
Karachi's fall from a model metropolis to one of the least liveable cities is a story of systemic governance failures, lack of ownership, haphazard and rapid urbanization, and indifferent attitude of its residents to a greater extent.
This consistent low ranking reflects the city's long-standing and deep-rooted challenges. The decay is on all accounts. There is not a single segment which can be rated as anywhere near to being satisfactory - be it civic amenities, local government organisations, law and order situation, environment, public health and education.
Decaying roads, insufficient public transport, and lack of urban zoning have led to traffic chaos, slums, and encroachments. Drainage and waste management systems are outdated, causing frequent urban flooding and unhygienic conditions. Chronic shortages of potable water, load-shedding, and broken sewerage systems plague most neighborhoods.
Multiple overlapping administrative authorities (KMC, provincial government, cantonments) result in inefficiency and blame-shifting. Political turf wars hinder long-term development planning and discourage investment.
Although improved since the 2010s, Karachi still struggles with street crime, gang violence in pockets, and police inefficiency. Law and order issues affect residents' quality of life and investor confidence. Severe air and water pollution, coastal erosion, unchecked industrial waste, and the loss of green spaces have made Karachi one of the most environmentally-stressed cities. Overburdened hospitals, inadequate primary health coverage, and crumbling public education infrastructure further lower liveability standards.
It is not so much a question of lack of funds availability to Karachi to set things right, but it is more of a lack of will to perform and transparency in the deployment and utilisation of the allocated funds for the right cause.
A good example to cite that things are doable in Pakistan where there's a will to deliver is the mass transportation system of Karachi comparable to that of Lahore. A Japanese soft loan was offered for the revival of Karachi Circular Railway and Chinese financing under CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) for Karachi Mass Transit System. While Karachi is struggling since years to put on ground the Green Line Mass Transit System and revive circular railway for the mass transit of its citizens, the city of Lahore has since long provided its citizens a state-of-art mass transit 'Orange Line' under CPEC financing for transportation of its residents from the rural part of Lahore to urban parts and another inter-city mass transit bus system, financed by the government of Punjab for transportation. Lahore has provided its residents a decent mode of transportation. The mass transit system has also been provided to the residents of Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi. Insofar as other civic amenities are concerned, the city of Karachi is left far behind its peers in the country.
Onward solutions for a livable Karachi are many like a single governance authority, a decent mass transit system & infrastructure development, green and resilient urban planning with revival of parks and coastal zones, smart policing and community safety, public-private partnerships (PPPs) for water, sanitation, health, education and all sectors to improve service delivery and develop Karachi's resilience to heatwaves, floods, and sea-level rise through early warning systems and coastal defences. These are the basic expected from a city government and all are doable.
The civil society of Karachi is a committed and vibrant society and many doable plans have been provided to the provincial and local governments. There are many listeners but no doers. A number of philanthropists and private sector of Karachi have very ably taken over some of the responsibility of the city in the field of education and healthcare and have provided relief to the citizens of the city. They may have to extend their engagement in the infrastructure development of the city under public private partnerships.
With over 20 million residents and a strategic economic position, turning Karachi around is not just a local priority but a national imperative to save Karachi, a city of teeming millions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
30 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
City's first beach resort opens
Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab inaugurated the Cove Beach Resort at Hawk's Bay on Friday, the first-ever beach resort in the metropolis established under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. While speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Mayor declared that Karachiites no longer need to travel abroad for premium beach experiences, as the city now boasts its own world-class leisure destination. The resort, completed in just six months, offers state-of-the-art facilities and is now open to the public. The mayor described the project as a milestone achievement for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and a step toward modernising the city's infrastructure. Wahab announced that another beach resort is in the pipeline, likely to be developed in Ibrahim Hyderi or Malir, ensuring broader access to high-quality recreational spaces for citizens. He stressed that enhancing Karachi's leisure and tourism sector remains a top priority under his administration. The mayor outlined several key projects aimed at improving Karachi's livability and economic vitality, which include cleaning of 46 major stormwater drains to prevent urban flooding during monsoon; beautification of II Chundrigar Road, the city's financial hub; preservation of historic landmarks such as Denso Hall, Empress Market, and Frere Hall; development of a mangrove conservation park to promote environmental awareness. The inauguration was attended by Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, City Council Parliamentary Leader Karamullah Waqasi, Deputy Parliamentary Leader Dil Muhammad, and various UC chairmen and officials. In a separate meeting with the Sindhi Muslim Housing Society's Managing Committee, Mayor Wahab directed the KMC Land Department to take immediate action against illegal constructions and encroachments on KMC-owned properties. He asked for weekly progress reports to ensure enforcement transparency. Meanwhile, the mayor has formally written to the Federal Minister for Commerce and Chairman of the Export Development Fund (EDF) Board, Jam Kamal Khan, expressing deep concern over the continued neglect of Karachi in the allocation and utilisation of Export Development Funds. The Mayor has urged the federal government to ensure that Karachi receives its rightful share of support and funding, commensurate with its critical role in Pakistan's economy.
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
CDWP greenlights Rs55b uplift projects
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) — a key planning and project-approval body — has approved five development projects worth Rs55.164 billion for sustainable economic development in the country. A CDWP meeting held on Friday under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal greenlighted these projects. Out the five, three projects totaling Rs47.439 billion were referred to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval. The agenda focused on development projects across key sectors, including environment, food and agriculture, health and physical planning and housing. A project related to the environment sector — installation of Weather Surveillance Radar at Sukkur — worth Rs5725.013 million was also approved. The chair noticed inordinate delay in implementation of the project with Japanese grant and directed the relevant authority to complete it on priority basis. A project related to food and agriculture — Balochistan Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Project — was also recommended to ECNEC. The revised cost of the project is Rs12461.661 million. It will be financed through World Bank and International Development Association (IDA) and MDTF. The main objective of the project is to promote employment opportunities for rural communities and ensure the sustainability of enterprises in eight districts of Balochistan including Chagai, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, Mastung, Nushki, Pishin, Sherani, and Zhob. The project aims to benefit rural households by supporting livelihoods through enterprise development and job creation. Furthermore, it will extend benefits to communities for enterprises development in sectors — agriculture, livestock, forestry, mines and minerals, tourism, and industry. Ahsan Iqbal directed that the additional scope of work should include tangible and impact oriented interventions under the project.
Business Recorder
7 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Copper bounces on Trump pause on ME as tariff uncertainty lingers
LONDON: Copper prices rebounded on Friday after US President Donald Trump pushed back a decision on US military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, but gains were capped by uncertainty over tariffs and Chinese demand. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4% at $9,654 a metric ton by 1400 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices hit the weakest since June 13 at $9,558.50. Most metals moved higher along with stock markets after news emerged that Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran air war and as Europe tried to coax Tehran back to negotiations. 'We've got the geopolitical uncertainty in the background although maybe a little bit of a reprieve on that side in the sense that Trump wants to allow a bit more time for diplomacy,' said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. 'But we still have all the trade fears, which may have become a secondary feature over the last week. It's not that far down the line before the expiry of the 90-day pause on the Liberation Day tariffs.' The 90-day pause in Trump's broadest 'reciprocal' tariffs will end on July 8. Premiums for nearby LME copper contracts have jumped to their highest since October 2022 because of low inventories and large holdings of cash contracts and warrants, traders said. Copper stocks in LME registered warehouses at 99,200 tons have dropped more than 60% since the middle of February and are at their lowest since August 202. Much of the outflow of LME stocks has been to the United States to take advantage of higher copper prices there in anticipation of US tariffs being imposed. US Comex copper futures dipped 0.3% to $4.84 a lb, bringing the premium of Comex over LME copper to $1,016 a ton. A Shanghai-based metals analyst at a futures firm said in addition to the Middle East and US interest rates, investors were concerned about weaker demand in top metals consumer China. Among other metals, LME aluminium gained 0.7% to $2,540 a ton, zinc rose 0.4% to $2,651.50 and tin climbed 1.5% to $32,490 while nickel shed 0.4% to $14,995 and lead dipped 0.1% to $1,989.50.
