THE Sindh government recently cele-brated the inauguration of the Malir Expressway, or the Shahrah-i-Bhutto, hailing it as a landmark development project. In reality, however, the project is by the elite for the elite. It has come at a heavy cost of large-scale destruction of the natural environment. Malir, a historic district of Karachi, has long been known for its greenery, fertile lands and rich farming culture. Today, it is being pushed towards environmental and social ruin.

Malir is sustained by five natural rivers — Moal, Jalandro, Khadiji, Langiji and Thado — all of which converge into the Malir River. Instead of protecting this fragile ecosystem, the expressway has disrupted it. Building a road beneath and across the Malir River has interfered with natural water channels, damaging dams, drying up wells and turning the once-lush farmland into barren land. For local farmers, this is not progress; this is devastation.

The crisis is deepened by the discharge of sewage from Bahria Town and waste from cattle farms into the river. This is not development; this is environmental destruction. We have already witnessed the case of Lyari Expressway after heavy rainfall, proving that nature cannot be engineered away. As the saying goes, a river will always reclaim its path, and anything that stands in its way will ultimately suffer the consequences.

The Malir Expressway does not serve the people of Malir. It primarily facilitates access to elite localities, while placing Malir’s environment, agriculture and future at risk. This is not development.

Ahad Aziz
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026