Karachi’s infrastructure crisis sparks fresh political tensions in Pakistan

Political tensions are rising in Pakistan as Sindh leaders accuse the federal government of neglecting Karachi's infrastructure. Mounting transport congestion, water shortages, extreme heat and inadequate investment have intensified concerns over governance and the city's worsening liveability

New Delhi: Political tensions are surfacing in Pakistan between leaders from Sindh and the Federal government over the lack of investment in Karachi, the country’s largest commercial hub, that is being turned into an unlivable city, according to a report.

Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon sharply criticised Pakistan’s federal government for what he calls a “low priority” approach toward Karachi, the article in the Ceylon Wire News said, observing that his statements underscore the widening fault lines between provincial and federal authorities over infrastructure funding and urban development.

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Despite being the country’s main port city and gateway for trade, it has been bypassed in the development of the national motorway network, leaving the city in crippling transport congestion. Heavy freight traffic from across Pakistan converges on Karachi, leaving the city’s arteries clogged, its roads battered, and its commuters trapped in a cycle of daily hardship, it said.

The transport crisis is compounded by Karachi’s worsening water shortages. The metropolis requires 650 million gallons per day (MGD) but currently receives only 610 MGD, leaving a shortfall of 40 MGD. The city’s civic infrastructure is not only inadequate but often absent, leaving citizens exposed to indignities that erode both public health and social life, the article pointed out.

Studies show that Karachi has the highest urban-rural temperature difference among major Pakistani cities, around 4.5 degrees Celsius, with delivery riders and rickshaw drivers experiencing temperatures far above recorded averages. The city is literally being built to absorb and retain heat, worsening health risks and productivity losses. Combined with water shortages, the heat crisis is pushing Karachi’s residents into a precarious struggle for survival.

The cumulative effect of these failures is reflected in global rankings. Karachi consistently lands in the bottom five of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index, scoring just 42.7 out of 100. It is routinely compared with cities like Lagos, Tripoli, and Damascus, places synonymous with instability and hardship. The Asian Development Bank has similarly assessed that Pakistan’s urban centres are becoming increasingly inefficient, with Karachi marked by congestion and pollution.

Class divisions elites retreat to cantonment areas and private housing societies, while low-income groups are pushed into overcrowded districts like Karachi East, deepening the metropolis’s malaise. Ethnic and religious divisions further fracture the city, fueling outbreaks of violence. Forbes recently ranked Karachi as the second riskiest city for tourists worldwide, citing high personal security risks, poor infrastructure, and economic vulnerabilities.

The federal government’s reluctance to prioritise the city in national development projects, combined with provincial mismanagement, has left Karachi’s infrastructure overstretched and its residents underserved. Migration from across Pakistan continues to swell the city’s population, intensifying pressure on housing, transport, and water systems. Yet governance remains reactive, focused on short-term fixes rather than structural reform. The result is a metropolis that is both indispensable to Pakistan’s economy and increasingly unlivable for its people, the article noted.