Articles
The Unresolved Conflict
Since 1947, when Pakistan was created, major demographic, social and economic changes have taken place in the country. These changes are so enormous that they can be termed revolutionary. However, they have not been institutionalised...
Lyari Expressway – The Envionmental Cost of the Lyari Expressway
A proposal to build an elevated expressway over the length of the Lyari river from Mauripur Road to Sohrab Goth was promoted in 1990 by a Karachi NGO. From newspaper reports and seminar presentations one...
A Decade of Urban Decay
During the 1980s, Pakistan’s urban population increased from 28.3 to 31.2 percent of its total population. Expressed in these terms, the increase does not seem excessive. However, what these figures mean is that in the...
Day of the Middleman
The no confidence motion moved by the COP in the national assembly, and the political manoeuvring that accompanied it, has dominated the national media for the past few weeks. Both parliamentary groups emphasised that only...
The Sindh Cauldron
The present state of political unrest and social anarchy in Sindh cannot be explained by the application of conventional political theories based on class or nationality, as our leaders, political pundits and intellectuals have been...
The Grand Compromise
The Prime Minister makes brave speeches. With great confidence she inaugurates the wheat growing season and the People’s Works Programme. She is nominated for prestigious international awards and she accepts the nominations gracefully. She visits...
The MQM: An Uncertain Future?
Ever since the November elections were announced, a number of political commentators and analysts, both local and foreign, have insisted that no political issues were involved in the campaign. They have maintained that the whole...
The Katchi Abadi Syndrome and the Shelter Sector in Pakistan
In 1984, 31.2 percent of Pakistan’s population lived in urban centres. By 2000 this figure is expected to increase to 40 percent due to an annual population growth rate of 4.4 percent in the urban...
A Generation Comes of Age
Civic strife in Karachi and Hyderabad, Sind’s two largest cities, has escalated in the last two years into what appears to be a major ethnic conflict. The government has responded to the situation by arresting...
The Trauma of Change
Drought conditions in Tharparkar resulting from insufficient and erratic rainfall during the last three years have been heavily publicised recently. However, if the meteorological records are correct, this is certainly not the first drought in...
