Karachi’s traffic nightmare

If “the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton” then what are the battles that we are losing in the traffic of Karachi?

I am not sure if this allusion is appropriate. I thought of it because that famous quote suggests that a nation’s strength and performance depend on the values and the character that are cultivated in its youth in educational institutions.

Besides, I see the Karachi traffic as a mirror that reflects some aspects of our society’s values and moral behaviour. It may be argued that the state of traffic and the responses of the citizens involved would be similar in other Pakistani cities. Perhaps, though, I see Karachi in a different context.

Karachi stands apart in many respects. This is not the occasion to recount the history of Karachi and what became of it after Partition. There was a time when Karachi had the reputation of being one of the world’s most violent and dangerous cities.

We have celebrated Independence Day with an exceptional sense of joy and pride, with a particular focus on our military’s exploits in the brief encounter with India in May. However, we could not find time to reflect on our national sense of direction seriously. Karachi figures prominently in what we have made of our freedom, and its ethnic politics have been a barrier in our search for social harmony.

Talking about Independence Day, it also projected a dimension of the disorder that traffic can cause in Karachi. If you live in Karachi and were out somewhere in the vicinity of Clifton and SeaView on Thursday afternoon or evening, you know what I am trying to say.

Now, I need to state the reason why I have chosen the madness that is often found on the streets of Karachi in the event of a fatal accident as the subject of this column. There have been many stories of instant reaction by mobs when some glossy SUV or a heavy vehicle like a dumper or a tanker has hit a motorcycle and there are fatalities or grave injuries. Again and again, the mobs set fire to the ‘offending’ vehicle. In the chaotic life of Karachi, such incidents have been quite frequent.

Against this background, we had this accident on Rashid Minhas Road on Sunday, after 3:00am. A dumper hit a motorcyclist and his two pillion riders, his 22-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. Both siblings died on the spot. The cyclist suffered serious injuries.

What happened after that was not entirely unusual. Even at that ungodly hour, a crowd gathered at the site of the accident and the dumper was set on fire. The protest spread and six more dumpers were torched by mobs in different locations.

There was, naturally, an immediate reaction from the owners of dumpers and their organisation first staged a protest on Rashid Minhas Road and later they blocked the Super-highways with dumpers parked across the road. Some other roads were also blocked for vehicular traffic. This blockade created traffic jams that continued for hours. It seemed that this show of force had some ethnic undertones.

Eventually, high officials of the Sindh government were involved, and the transporters had to be placated. At the same time that deep sorrow was expressed over the loss of lives in the accident, violent incidents that followed were strongly condemned. A committee was formed to assess the losses of the transporters. The transporters were assured that terrorism cases would be lodged against those involved in torching heavy vehicles. A number of arrests were made.

On Monday, the Sindh Assembly was informed that only dumpers equipped with trackers and cameras would be allowed to enter Karachi after August 25. Some other steps were being considered to protect law and order in the event of similar fatal accidents. What they seem unable to ensure is the enforcement of traffic laws. Because of insufficient public transport and lack of any rapid transit system, lower middle-class commuters are compelled to buy motorcycles, which they drive in a reckless manner, and most of them do not wear helmets.

Irrespective of how this entire affair is dealt with, there are hints that political elements are set to exploit this situation. So much so that Sindh’s Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon said that arson attacks after the accident were similar to how politics of linguistics and extortion had been promoted in the past. He saw Sunday’s incidents as a conspiracy.

In these circumstances, it is hard not to be reminded of how a fatal traffic accident had actually changed Karachi. It was on April 15, 1985, when a college student Bushra Zaidi died in a traffic accident. She was hit by a mini-bus. It led to clashes between Mohajirs and Pashtuns. It became a catalyst that strengthened the power of the MQM.

That, we know, was a long time ago. Karachi has been through some very dark and dreary days. But the disorder that you witness on the roads seems to be more deadly now. One measure of this is that Karachi is now less livable than before. We have evidence from The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index 2025. Out of 173 cities that were surveyed, Karachi is ranked at 170. The assessment was made in different categories, one of which was infrastructure, with reference to street network quality and public transport quality.

If you drive in Karachi or use any means of transport, you will have some idea of how lawless Karachi is becoming. The crowds that we see floating on the streets are forever ready to become mobs, whatever the excuse. Just like a vehicle involved in a fatal accident can be torched, a person accused of being a robber can be lynched. This has been happening in Karachi from time to time.

In fact, Karachi may serve as a laboratory to study the mania of a mob. But will that be a therapeutic exercise?

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: ghazi.karachi@gmail.com