The popularly elected government of Benazir Bhutto, thru its enigmatic edicts emanating from the Holy Sanctums of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, and also thru the myopic emissions from the hallowed offices of the Shah government adjacent to Sheraton Towers, has evolved a new democratic order for the ill-fated denizens of the once-animated City, which is now a moribund and desolate reminder of the glorious past.

The recent events belie any positive concern for the City and is more conspicuous as a vendetta by the ruling clique against the City for immensely believing in the concepts espoused by a youthful member of the middle-income strata whose abode is a small cottage tucked unobtrusively in the inner zone of a District Central lane. This spellbinder thru his mesmerizing oratorical skills organized a close-knit band of the unemployed, discriminated, and poor young men and women and instilled in them a sense of pride for their roots, and at the same time impressed upon them to demand their just rights.

Over a short period of time, this group took on the shape of a movement and the residents of Karachi, Hyderabad, and other urban Sindh cities welcomed them with open arms and with flowers. The organization won elections with landslides and the Leader and his humble home became the venue of many a Yatra by those aspiring to be at the helm of affairs in this nation. It was an entirely different matter that these very prominent politicians very conveniently disregarded their commitments to upgrade this City and to solve its myriad problems.

The upsurge in the popularity and the sudden meteoric rise in the powers of this organization became a source of consternation for the landed gentry that has spread its tentacles all over the country. As someone recently remarked, this movement is more organized then any political party or even the Armed forces. Hence this movement had to be reined in and reined in pronto.

The present government then embarked on a smorgasbord of regulatory steps that have created a new sense of deprivation and have pushed the citizens of Karachi with their backs to the wall. Among the discriminatory, arbitrary, and dictatorial measures adopted for Karachi have been:

• Ban on the publication of SIX evening newspapers in the national language. It seems that the pygmy politicos ruling the roost have no stomach to fathom the sincere criticisms nor do they desire that the populace read the facts.
• Suspension of the modern instruments of instant communication like the cellular phone, pager, card phones, etc. because of the bewildering idea of some asinine mind that these are the tools of terrorism.
• Requisitioning a police force of 5000 from the other provinces to wield more menacingly the iron rod with the absurd notion that brute use of power will give the desired solution of peace and tranquillity and at the same time pulverize the organization.
• Import of a large number of brand new APCs from Turkey to patrol the streets and avenues, to protect the increasing number of law-enforcers, and to show-off the might of state force.
• Incarceration and institution of cases against the elected representatives so as to deprive the citizens of Karachi their voice in the Assembly and Senate.
• Establishment of a farcical body of non-elected non-entities as so-called Advisors to plunder and destroy the Municipal Corporation and at the same time filling up the work roster with non-local appointments.
• Insensitive approach towards the provision of infra-structure facilities for the City, a situation which is aggravating with each passing day.

• Complete ban on morning newspapers like Dawn, The News, Jang, etc.
• Suspension of publication of Politics & Business, Takbeer, Herald, Newsline, etc.
• Mandatory load-shedding at least three times a day.
• Ban on the satellite dish so that people don’t watch the facts on ZeeTV and BBC.
• Enforcement of curfew from dusk-to-dawn all over Karachi.
• Compulsory checking of credentials of the common citizens by police and the militia.
• Suspension of all development projects under the Karachi Package for an indefinite period of time.
• Continued imprisonment of elected representatives, and institution of cases against anti-ruling party personalities belonging to various schools of thought and professions.
• Mounted pressure on the industry and business leaders to toe the government line.
• Extensive checking of all cars entering or leaving the City precincts.
• Barrage of propaganda on the government media against the representative party of the City.
• Exposure, rightly or wrongly, of businessmen and other elite of the City with reference to the activities of this organization.

What it is all boiling down is that the government’s moves and harsh measures, its obstinacy, and its single-purpose revengeful attitude, will result in a further deterioration in the state of affairs of Karachi. It may fan the already growing disenchantment in certain quarters and may turn out to be the spark that will light the blazing fire of a demand for a separate province and a redefinition of the status of Karachi.