IN Karachi, when it comes to water, it is every man and woman for themselves. A persistent shortage in available supply has created a situation in which either personal connections or the depth of one’s purse often dictate how comfortably one can access this basic necessity. Those with means often compete with kith and kin to secure an extra favour from the ‘tanker mafia’ supplying water at inflated rates. Those with less compete to secure one of the very limited number of water tankers supplied every day at government rates. In areas still privileged to receive piped water, neighbours compete with each other to pull more than their fair share into their own water tanks. Meanwhile, the friendless and economically destitute must line up overnight at public pumps or ‘black market’ dealers stealing from water mains for a bucket or two for their daily use. It is a pitiable situation, made galling by the consistent lack of care shown by successive rulers and administrators of the city towards its long-suffering residents. With the onset of summer, the situation is expected to worsen considerably. And the city’s politicians have started preparing for the inevitable.

Lawmakers from the MQM on Wednesday raised the Karachi water supply issue in the National Assembly, mainly to blame the PPP-led Sindh government for delays in the completion of the K-IV water supply project. Upon being given reassurances by the federal minister for water resources that the federal government and Wapda’s contribution to K-IV will be completed within the current year, an MQM leader retorted that he feared the project would not be completed even by 2030. Interestingly, no credible solution seems to have been proposed or discussed during the session. Sadly, this is quite typical of the political leadership’s general response to the difficulties Karachiites routinely face. They drop a few headline-worthy quotes here and there, make empty promises, and then return to usual business. The script is rinsed and repeated year after year, to be put into play the moment the citizenry starts crying out in distress. This is admittedly a rather bleak view, but what else can be said? The progressively deteriorating state of the country’s commercial engine cannot be denied, and it seems Karachi is fated for worse unless its leaders and representatives can be brought to see some incentive in improving its state.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026