Articles
The MQM Factor
For the first time since the creation of Pakistan, the Urdu-speaking Sindhis, or mohajirs as they are called, have sought to identify themselves with the larger interests of Sind. Their new leadership, born and bred...
The Sohrab Goth Massacre
The Sohrab Goth Massacre began on the twelfth of December 1987, two days before the Aligarh Colony killings. It was not a massacre of human life. It was a massacre of homes, of economic activity...
The Profits of Doom
“Let us not complicate things. It is really very simple. If you control the poppy fields,Karachi, and the road that links the two you will be so rich that you will control Pakistan,army or no...
Karachi’s Godfathers
If their statements are to be believed, it seems that leaders of public opinion, political parties and ethnic groups all agree that the real cause of Karachi’s recurrent ethnic riots is a lack of civic...
Karachi’s Disappearing Troughs
Before the mid-1920s, almost all transport in Karachi was animal-drawn. Bullock, donkey and camel carts were used for carrying cargo and as transportation for the poor, while the rich moved around in their horse-drawn victorias...
The Twilight of the Waderas
Highway robberies; kidnappings; carrying of unlicensed guns in the streets; private armies; an impotent administration; closed universities; non-collection of revenue; failure to maintain canals, drainage channels and roads; migration of middle landlords and capitalists to...
Another Time, Another Place
In the first quarter of the eighteenth century, Kharak Bunder was an important port on the Arabian Sea, west of present- day Karachi. Although its exact location is disputed, there is considerable evidence to suggest...
A Pedestrian’s Saddar
On February 3, 1839, the HMS Wellesley bombarded the Fort of Manora. In the space of three hours the western arm of the fort was destroyed, and Karachi was enveloped in a cloud of smoke....
How to Shelter Urban Poor
The dimensions of the urban crisis in Pakistan are well known, and as such need no elaboration. The most important aspect of this crisis is related to the provision of land and shelter for lower...
A Changing Cityscape
In physical terms nothing remains of Karachi’s pre-British past. Yet we know the sites of important eighteenth and early nineteenth century buildings which have now been built over. We can still identify accurately the outlines...
