Guest post by Karachi
As the sun rose in my Karachi yesterday, so the curtain was raised on the day of much anticipated, expertly choreographed blood shed many had predicted. That it was all so properly scripted made it all the more shocking, then disgusting, and then of course dreadfully sad.
Over the past few months, I have decided to stay quiet and simply observe the ugly political scene developing in Pakistan. As it was in the mid-90’s, I have begun to lose faith that there is any chance of stability for Pakistan…at least in my lifetime.
But then sometimes you are forced to witness an event after which you simply cannot stay quiet…you have to stand up and speak out against all the wrong that you see. That is what we try to do here at Micropakistan-hoping that perhaps our debate and discussions will lead to solutions to the mess that we are currently in.
I was on my way to the Institute in the Institute’s bus to give an exam…an Institute safely (or unsafely) within the confines of Karachi University. While stationary at a traffic signal, I lifted my head to see two youths not part of the Institute clamber onto the bus and reveal a gun to the driver.
Continue reading ‘No Matter Who Wins…We Lose!’
I received this forward a long time back from a friend (HJ)… An interesting read for anyone who grew up in Pakistan in the 80s/90s.
A “Nostalgist’s Map” of Pakistan/Karachi written from a well-off middle-class point of view. Author Unknown.
Have you lived……from a Karachiwala….
Close your eyes….. And go back in time…. Before the Internet, VCD and DVD. Before semi-automatics machine guns, joyriders and crack …. Before SEGA or Super Nintendo or Video Games… Way back….
I’m talking about Hide and seek (Chhupan Chhupaee) in the park or on the streets. The corner shop, Butter Scotch Candy, Mitchells Milk Toffee,Jubilee, football with an old can, hockey, cricket and Pittu with the same ball. jumping in enormous puddles, Building dams.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass. Mayfair bubble gum.A POLKA ice cream pop cone on a warm summer night, Wait……Watching Weekday 5pm evening or Saturday Morning cartoons… short commercials,Tom and Jerry, He-Man, Captain Caveman, Waltron, Walligator, Danger Mouse and Pink Panther.
We posted a satirical piece on one of the proposed multi-billion dollar development projects in Karachi earlier. Below I’ve posted a video titled ‘Karachi Waterfront’, which is a waterfront project spearheaded by Dubai based real estate developer, Limitless. Many of you might be aware of this as this was approved in June. I had read about it in a Defence Housing Authority magazine last year, but just came across this video. They will be investing Dh73 billion in Karachi after the success of their previous international project of note, Dubai World.
The video is more like a sales pitch. I wasn’t able to make out its target market. Is it being targeted at rich Pakistanis? or at Pakistani and foreign investors? or at tourists?
It talks about, ‘Innovation, imagination and inspiration’ and when you look at the video it truly seems to be conveying all three. However, it also talks about ‘new Karachi’ (referring to the project) and ‘old Karachi’. The video hardly talks about the city of Karachi and how it would benefit it. It seems as if the project is distancing itself from the existing city of Karachi. It seems to be doing the same as the Buddo and Bundal island projects.
Continue reading ‘Karachi’s multi-billion dollar waterfront project’
This is a 20 minute documentary about Karachi made by Chai Paani Productions. It is a wonderful attempt at capturing as much of the colour and flavour of Karachi in 20 minutes as possible. I didn’t get the title, but it seems to have been taken from the poetry displayed at the back of trucks and buses seen on Karachi roads.
Also, it shows people being asked the way to different city landmarks and I get the impression that is to show how helpful the people generally are. I remember I once asked a man on the street the way to a certain place and he volunteered to sit with me in my car and take me to my destination. And then he walked all the way back. Anyway, loved watching this one.
So, here it is…
Part 1
This is something that really severely affects a lot of people living in Karachi and, increasingly, all over the country. Cell phone thefts are not the only problem. Thefts of car CD players, wheel rims and side-view mirrors are all on the rise. Our cities are turning into very dangerous places and if you read the Editorial below its obvious that things are not getting better. A lot of the people who have left the city in the recent past cite religious extremism, increasing traffic, water problems, electricity problems and, above all, crime as their reasons for leaving the city. All are problems; none are impossible to resolve. As the figures below show things have only gotten worse since last year even though new initiatives have been started to catch cell phone thieves. They are definitely not working.
Yesterday, the PNSC Building off Keamari flyover caught fire and at least 5 floors of the building were completely damaged. The building was, at one time, the 2nd tallest building in the country. The fire started on the 11th floor in the morning and by afternoon the fire-fighting authorities had left the building to itself because there was no way of getting to those floors. 24 snorkels were used to put off the fire however most snorkels weren’t able to propel water more than 9 floors. Hence, the brave fire-fighters tried their best, and managed, to stop the fire from spreading downwards. Also, Pakistan Navy helicopters managed to rescue six people who had managed to run up to the roof. 4 fire-fighters fainted due to the smoke.
However, the real irony lies in the fact that at a time when our planning authorities are giving permission to build high-rise buildings we don’t have the ability to provide the necessary fire-fighting facilities to relatively much smaller buildings.
Continue reading ‘KPT snorkels unable to propel water to 11 storeys; KPT Tower to be 1,947 ft.’
This is a humourous piece that has been forwarding around the net. Missing anything?
1. You get shocked when someone stops at a yellow light
2. You never really know what to say when someone asks you what there is to see in Karachi
3. You know where to find a “dhol vaala”
4. You’ve never really seen a tourist
5. Its December and you attend 5 mehndis/shaadis in one night and end up meeting the same people at each of them
6. You use the phrases “whats the scene?” “scene on hai” or ”whose he sceening with?”
7. You still have some of Everest/ABBA Videos movies and dont plan to return them
8. You’ve met a Parsi Continue reading ‘You know you are a Karachite when…’
A friend emailed me these pictures recently. They seem to have been taken from the British Library archives and show how the city has transormed itself in the last 100 or so years. But then again 100 years is a long time. So much progress has taken place in these last 100 years that it is unbelievable.
What’s more unbelievable is how some of the sites are still easily recognisable. Empress Market has not changed one bit. D.J. Science College also looks very much like what it was when I saw it last. Gymkhana has had developments all around the main building, but the main building still retains the same Tudor look.
And then there’s Saddar. WOW. I’m sure some of you would be able to recognize some old Victorian style churches and buildings after careful examination, but it is almost impossible to compare it to Saddar of today. It has definitely changed. For worse.
In the pictures it looked like a lovely area to live in. Today, it is what Mr Cowasjee refers to as a ‘fire-trap’. Not just that it is a ‘carbon dioxide trap’ as well with old heavily polluting buses, rickshaws, mini-buses, taxis and vans. Also, it looked quite open and spread out in those days compared to the claustrophobic streets of today.
Continue reading ‘Karachi Archives’
Here is a letter I wrote in Dawn on July 03, 2006. I talk about the Karachi’s government structure due to Musharraf’s devolution plan. At that time I was all praise for the city’s local government structure and how it had progressed in leaps and bounds. However, I stand corrected on that. Even though the government structure (explained breifly below) deserves praise I forgot that any kind of ‘democracy’, local or national, would mirror each other and the elections would always be a fraud. Today, we have in power Mr Mustafa Kamal of the ‘Haqparast’ group aka MQM. 
We all know why he is where he is and the page long newspaper adds and the ridiculous ‘Hamara Karachi Festival’ are a testament to his incompetence.
Mr Cowasjee highlights what is really going on in the city and how the incompetent and corrupt rulers of the city are turning it into a very dangerous place. He talks about the illegal industrial workshops being allowed to operate in the heart of the city, Saddar, turning it into a fire-trap. However, the failure by building authorities to ensure earthquake resistant buildings in a city of 14-15 million people is a disaster waiting to happen if, God forbid, such an event took place.
Way to go, Naimutullah Khan
IT was heartening to see Mr Naimatullah Khan, the former nazim of Karachi, contending for the title of World Mayor 2005. Continue reading ‘Karachi’s local government: A success?’
