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The glittering city of dreams that once Karachi was, is now writhing in the clutches of mafia which also weild considerable political influence, laments Shahid Husain
Karachi is undergoing metamorphosis. The “city of lights” of yesteryears has been brutalised and target killings have become the order of the day. With an estimated population of 18 million, the megalopolis of Karachi is now controlled by mafia.
There was a time when burqa-clad women with all their jewellery would return from marriages late in the night all alone without any fear, and children would play in lanes till 2 am and the doors would remain open for them. The boundary walls of bungalows were also not more than four feet high and one could have a glimpse of the lawns inside while walking on the pavements. Then things started changing. But these changes have a history. As the capital of Pakistan, Karachi witnessed a great upheaval in 1953 when students staging peaceful demonstration demanding better education facilities were fired at. Seven students and a passerby had lost their lives. However, the establishment was forced to accept the students' demands.
In fact, the 1953 movement led by left-wing Democratic Students Federation (DSF) was a turning point in Pakistan’s chequered history. The establishment decided to shift the capital to Islamabad.
Again in 1964, it was Karachi and Dhaka from where the opposition leader Fatima Jinnah won the elections despite notorious “Basic Democracy” system in which only 80,000 BD members were allowed to cast their votes in presidential elections.
The democratic upsurge of 1968-69 that forced military dictator General Ayub Khan to announce that he would not take part in next elections shook the corridors of power. There was a euphoria in the air and students, industrial workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals and writers felt as if a revolution was in
the making.
However, another military dictator General Yahya Khan staged a coup and took hold of the reins of power. Perhaps it was in 1968-69 that the civil and military establishment decided to break the will of Karachiites. The break-away of eastern wing in 1971 and establishment of Bangladesh as an independent state too weakened the democratic movement in the financial hub of Pakistan because the politically conscious leadership of Pakistan’s eastern wing always gave a lead to the rest of Pakistan, including Karachi.
Thus began a process of de-politicising of Karachiites. Ethnicity and parochialism was deliberately promoted by the government. Political activists were disillusioned. What they thought was a revolution was only a mirage.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who reached the corridors of power through catchy slogans of "Islamic socialism" and roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, cloth and housing) stated publicly that he had done more to halt communism than the Americans and his "socialism" was like that of Germany. In fact, Bhutto used fascist methodology to woo the masses and promoted jingoism. On the top of that it was Bhutto who succumbed to the pressures of mullahs and declared the minority Ahmedi community as non-Muslims and banned liquor although he himself was a heavy alcoholic. Ban on liquor paved the way for deadly drugs, including heroin and drug mafia came to the fore with a big bang. While the affluent had an easy access to liquor, the downtrodden in slum areas such as Lyari started consuming heroin. Drug and arms mafia penetrated in Pakistan and gangsters started playing a vital role.
The brutalisation of society reached its peak when the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was overthrown in July 1977 by despot General Zia-ul-Haq and Bhutto was sent to gallows. In the wake of previous Afghan War, drug and arms culture was introduced in Karachi. The drug mafia entered Lyari that happened to be the most vibrant area of yesteryears, both politically and culturally.
Gradually the land mafia, transport mafia and drug mafia became so powerful that political activism retreated and was replaced by the guns. With the increasing activities of drug mafia and bureaucratic capital, the social fabric of Pakistan society in general and Karachi in particular deteriorated and sectarian killings became the order of the day. Class contradictions also came into existence and were quiet sharpened. On one hand, there were limousines worth tens of millions of rupees plying on the streets of Karachi, on the other, there were hordes of jobless youth roaming directionless on the streets of Karachi.
With the migration of large number of people to Karachi in search of jobs, the demography of the largest city of Pakistan started changing drastically. No wonder Karachi now harbours the biggest Pushtoon population in Pakistan. As a matter of fact, had it not been for the philanthropists in Karachi, tens of thousands of people would have died of hunger. Social workers such as Abdul Sattar Edhi are not only feeding millions of people in Karachi, they are also running the world’s largest ambulance service in the private sector.
But sadly enough, the fate of Karachi is decided by the land mafia whose agents have entered almost every political party. The powerful mafia can trigger gang wars and ethnic tension in any part of the city. Clifton, Hawkesbay and Sandspit beaches that once provided solace are now eyed by the notorious land mafia. Similarly, several heritage buildings too are in danger because the greedy want to build sky scrapers in their place.
However, there is a silver lining! Despite threats the civil society and the intelligentsia in the financial hub of Pakistan is adamant to resist mafias and save beaches and expose the vested interests. Nobody knows how many years it would take to undo the wrongs of General Zia-ul-Haq, but one could still find an oasis in Karachi in the midst of anarchy, lawlessness and chaos.
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The glittering city of dreams that once Karachi was, is now writhing in the clutches of mafia which also weild considerable political influence, laments Shahid Husain
Karachi is undergoing metamorphosis. The “city of lights” of yesteryears has been brutalised and target killings have become the order of the day. With an estimated population of 18 million, the megalopolis of Karachi is now controlled by mafia.
There was a time when burqa-clad women with all their jewellery would return from marriages late in the night all alone without any fear, and children would play in lanes till 2 am and the doors would remain open for them. The boundary walls of bungalows were also not more than four feet high and one could have a glimpse of the lawns inside while walking on the pavements. Then things started changing. But these changes have a history. As the capital of Pakistan, Karachi witnessed a great upheaval in 1953 when students staging peaceful demonstration demanding better education facilities were fired at. Seven students and a passerby had lost their lives. However, the establishment was forced to accept the students' demands.
In fact, the 1953 movement led by left-wing Democratic Students Federation (DSF) was a turning point in Pakistan’s chequered history. The establishment decided to shift the capital to Islamabad.
Again in 1964, it was Karachi and Dhaka from where the opposition leader Fatima Jinnah won the elections despite notorious “Basic Democracy” system in which only 80,000 BD members were allowed to cast their votes in presidential elections.
The democratic upsurge of 1968-69 that forced military dictator General Ayub Khan to announce that he would not take part in next elections shook the corridors of power. There was a euphoria in the air and students, industrial workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals and writers felt as if a revolution was in
the making.
However, another military dictator General Yahya Khan staged a coup and took hold of the reins of power. Perhaps it was in 1968-69 that the civil and military establishment decided to break the will of Karachiites. The break-away of eastern wing in 1971 and establishment of Bangladesh as an independent state too weakened the democratic movement in the financial hub of Pakistan because the politically conscious leadership of Pakistan’s eastern wing always gave a lead to the rest of Pakistan, including Karachi.
Thus began a process of de-politicising of Karachiites. Ethnicity and parochialism was deliberately promoted by the government. Political activists were disillusioned. What they thought was a revolution was only a mirage.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who reached the corridors of power through catchy slogans of "Islamic socialism" and roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, cloth and housing) stated publicly that he had done more to halt communism than the Americans and his "socialism" was like that of Germany. In fact, Bhutto used fascist methodology to woo the masses and promoted jingoism. On the top of that it was Bhutto who succumbed to the pressures of mullahs and declared the minority Ahmedi community as non-Muslims and banned liquor although he himself was a heavy alcoholic. Ban on liquor paved the way for deadly drugs, including heroin and drug mafia came to the fore with a big bang. While the affluent had an easy access to liquor, the downtrodden in slum areas such as Lyari started consuming heroin. Drug and arms mafia penetrated in Pakistan and gangsters started playing a vital role.
The brutalisation of society reached its peak when the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was overthrown in July 1977 by despot General Zia-ul-Haq and Bhutto was sent to gallows. In the wake of previous Afghan War, drug and arms culture was introduced in Karachi. The drug mafia entered Lyari that happened to be the most vibrant area of yesteryears, both politically and culturally.
Gradually the land mafia, transport mafia and drug mafia became so powerful that political activism retreated and was replaced by the guns. With the increasing activities of drug mafia and bureaucratic capital, the social fabric of Pakistan society in general and Karachi in particular deteriorated and sectarian killings became the order of the day. Class contradictions also came into existence and were quiet sharpened. On one hand, there were limousines worth tens of millions of rupees plying on the streets of Karachi, on the other, there were hordes of jobless youth roaming directionless on the streets of Karachi.
With the migration of large number of people to Karachi in search of jobs, the demography of the largest city of Pakistan started changing drastically. No wonder Karachi now harbours the biggest Pushtoon population in Pakistan. As a matter of fact, had it not been for the philanthropists in Karachi, tens of thousands of people would have died of hunger. Social workers such as Abdul Sattar Edhi are not only feeding millions of people in Karachi, they are also running the world’s largest ambulance service in the private sector.
But sadly enough, the fate of Karachi is decided by the land mafia whose agents have entered almost every political party. The powerful mafia can trigger gang wars and ethnic tension in any part of the city. Clifton, Hawkesbay and Sandspit beaches that once provided solace are now eyed by the notorious land mafia. Similarly, several heritage buildings too are in danger because the greedy want to build sky scrapers in their place.
However, there is a silver lining! Despite threats the civil society and the intelligentsia in the financial hub of Pakistan is adamant to resist mafias and save beaches and expose the vested interests. Nobody knows how many years it would take to undo the wrongs of General Zia-ul-Haq, but one could still find an oasis in Karachi in the midst of anarchy, lawlessness and chaos.
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2 comments:
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Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
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