arachi, Pakistan’s equivalent of a global metropolis, was recently described by the Economist Intelligence Unit ’s Global Liveability Index as the fourth least liveable city in the world. This news hardly surprised anyone familiar with the state of affairs in the city. The only global cities worse than Karachi were Dhaka, Tripoli and Damascus. Even the war-stricken Tehran and Kyiv scored better than Karachi.

The previous years have seen Karachi consistently rank as one of the least liveable cities in the world. No other city from Pakistan figured in the list. The EIU develops its estimate on measurement of various indicators including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Paradoxically, Karachi is the richest and most populous city of Pakistan. The 2023 Census estimated the city’s population at 20.3 million. Its famous ethnic diversity has often led to epithets such as ‘mini Pakistan.’ Karachi’s contribution to Pakistan’s economy is crucial. According to various estimates, Karachi generates around 25 percent of the country’s GDP and contributes 45-60 percent of federal tax revenue.

What ails Karachi? How does one make sense of these features of Karachi’s governance? Is it an issue of resource scarcity? Is Karachi a victim of lack of political will and leadership?

A search for answers to Karachi’s woes points to a mixture of explanatory factors. At the heart of this puzzle are matters of governance and equitable sharing of powers between provincial and local governments.

The contention over Karachi has a long history, at least as old as the state of Pakistan. Karachi became the federal capital after independence. The provincial government was wrapped up in 1948 and sent to Hyderabad. This development generated widespread resentment in Sindh as its capital was ‘forcibly taken over’ by the federal government. Once Karachi returned to the Sindh province as capital in 1970, it evolved into an arena for ethnic and political contestation among various contenders for power.

Karachi’s demography was significantly altered after Partition in the wake of the arrival of Muhajirs from north India. There was a corresponding exodus of Sindh’s primarily Hindu middle class that went across the border in the wake of violence ushered by partition. These movements of peoples across the borders resulted in de-Sindhification of Karachi as profiled by the 1951 Census. This situation continued till the 1970s, when the PPP made it to power in Karachi and Islamabad and pursued policies to undo the ethno-economic inequality that shaped Sindhi and Muhajir life in Sindh.

From then onwards, there was a gradual increase in Sindhi presence in the metropolis in various domains of life. This process was accompanied by a parallel decrease in Muhajir representation in state institutions and other domains of public life. The resultant backlash from the Muhajirs saw the rise of Muhajir nationalism expressed through the agency of the MQM. The subsequent decades saw Karachi becoming a ‘city on fire’ with repeated episodes of ethnic violence, deterioration in law and order and launch of a series of military operations.

Karachi’s governance deficit can be explained through its complex multi-ethnic demography and the ethno-political contestation between the Muhajirs and Sindhis at one end, and the MQM and the PPP at the other. 

The Sindhi share in Karachi’s demography has increased with the passage of time. Sindhis make up 11.12 percent of the city’s population according to the 2023 Census. The Muhajirs form roughly around half the city’s population. As a result of more recent waves of internal migration, Karachi is now home to the largest Pashtun urban population in the world along with increasing numbers of Seraikis in the city. The issues of bread and butter and governance often convert into ethnic grievances in the city’s charged political atmosphere.

Karachi’s governance deficit can be explained through its complex multi-ethnic demography and the broader ethno-political contestation between the Muhajirs and Sindhis at one end, and the MQM and the PPP at the other. An important issue in this context pertains to the scope of powers of the local government. The 2010 18th Amendment caused an unprecedented increase in the powers of the provincial governments. The accompanying expectation that there will be a second devolution of power from provincial to the local level has not materialised.

Karachi’s administrative affairs are sorted through the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, as amended in 2021. This amendment shifted significant powers back from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to the provincial government. This was another manifestation of long-running contention over Karachi’s control. For some, such as the MQM and the PTI, the 2021 Amendment amounted to a ‘provincial capture’ of the city’s resources and governance.

What has been the response from various political parties to Karachi’s perceived dysfunctionality? The MQM has repeatedly argued in favour of Karachi becoming a federal territory. Expressions of such demands receive a strong and immediate backlash from various quarters of the Sindhi society.

Since last year, there has been talk of an impending 28th Amendment, which will potentially usher in territorial reorganisation of Pakistan’s federation with the creation of new provinces. One of the proposed new provinces is Karachi. These whispers have received strong opposition from the PPP and Sindhi nationalist groups. The PPP considers such action to be an attempt to bring back the draconian One-Unit style system of governance.

The PPP and the PML-N, currently in power in Karachi and Islamabad, respectively, have failed to improve infrastructure, health, education and broader governance of the city. A city recognised as the commercial hub of the country and a microcosm of the Pakistani society needs an unconditional commitment from various stakeholders in providing its residents with basic standards of governance, infrastructure, facilities and security. In the larger scheme of things, this is not a zero-sum game between various claimants for power.

The writer is an associate professor of political science at LUMS. She is the author of In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan (Hurst Publishers, 2021).