essay karachi problems

Problems of Karachi Essay | 200 & 500 Words

by Pakiology | Apr 23, 2024 | Essay | 0 comments

Explore the multifaceted challenges faced by Karachi in this comprehensive essay. From overpopulation to traffic congestion, and water scarcity to political instability, discover the key issues affecting this bustling metropolis in our “Problems of Karachi Essay | 200 & 500 Words.”

Problems of Karachi Essay 200 Words

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, grapples with a myriad of complex issues that impact its diverse population, including students. Overpopulation, a pressing concern, strains resources, and infrastructure, leading to housing shortages and traffic congestion. The latter not only wastes valuable time but also contributes to air pollution and economic disruptions.

The city’s infrastructure is in decay, with potholed roads and inadequate public transport hindering students’ daily commute. Moreover, a severe water crisis, unequal water distribution, and contamination pose health risks, particularly for children. Energy shortages disrupt students’ study routines and hamper economic growth.

Political instability, ethnic tensions, and corruption further compound Karachi’s problems. Crime and security concerns, from street crimes to extortion threats, disrupt daily life and education. Environmental degradation, including air pollution and coastal erosion, jeopardizes the city’s future.

Educational challenges, such as limited access and varying educational quality, add to the city’s woes. The digital divide, highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, has exacerbated educational disparities.

In conclusion, Karachi faces a complex web of problems that affect students and residents alike, ranging from overpopulation and traffic congestion to water scarcity, political instability, and educational challenges. Addressing these issues requires collective efforts to ensure a better and more livable future for all in this vibrant metropolis.

Problems of Karachi Essay 500 Words

Introduction.

Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan and its economic hub, is a bustling metropolis known for its vibrant culture, diverse population, and economic opportunities. However, beneath its surface lies a myriad of complex and pressing problems that impact the daily lives of its residents. This essay aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the problems faced by Karachi, catering to all types of students, ranging from school to college levels.

I. Overpopulation

One of the most glaring issues plaguing Karachi is overpopulation. With a population of over 14 million (as of my last knowledge update in September 2021), Karachi is Pakistan’s most populous city. This rapid population growth has resulted in various challenges:

A. Housing Shortage: The city lacks adequate housing facilities to accommodate its ever-growing population. This has led to the emergence of informal settlements, commonly known as katchi abadis, characterized by substandard living conditions and a lack of basic amenities.

B. Strain on Infrastructure: Overpopulation places immense stress on infrastructure, including roads, public transport, and utilities. Traffic congestion is a daily ordeal for residents, leading to time wastage and increased air pollution.

C. Resource Scarcity: Overpopulation exacerbates the scarcity of essential resources such as water and electricity, leading to frequent shortages and increased prices.

II. Traffic Congestion

Karachi’s traffic congestion is a problem that affects everyone, from schoolchildren to working professionals. The city’s road infrastructure is inadequate to support its population’s vehicular needs, resulting in numerous issues:

A. Time Wastage: Commuters in Karachi often spend hours stuck in traffic, leading to productivity losses and stressful daily routines.

B. Air Pollution: Prolonged traffic congestion contributes to air pollution, which poses serious health risks to residents, particularly children and the elderly.

C. Economic Impact: Traffic congestion has a negative impact on the city’s economy as it disrupts the movement of goods and services, increasing costs for businesses and consumers.

III. Infrastructure Decay

The deteriorating state of Karachi’s infrastructure is a critical issue that affects students and the general population alike:

A. Poor Road Conditions: Many of Karachi’s roads are in disrepair, riddled with potholes and cracks, which not only cause traffic congestion but also pose safety hazards for commuters.

B. Inadequate Public Transport: The city’s public transportation system is outdated and inefficient, making it challenging for students to commute to schools and colleges.

C. Sanitation Problems: Karachi faces sanitation issues due to inadequate waste management infrastructure. This leads to unhygienic conditions that can contribute to the spread of diseases.

IV. Water Crisis

Access to clean and safe drinking water is a fundamental right, but Karachi faces a severe water crisis:

A. Unequal Distribution: Water is distributed inequitably across the city, with some areas receiving a more consistent supply than others. This disparity affects students’ ability to study and maintain good hygiene.

B. Contamination: Contaminated water sources in some parts of Karachi pose health risks, especially for children, who are more susceptible to waterborne diseases.

C. Groundwater Depletion: The over-extraction of groundwater has led to a decline in the water table, further exacerbating the water crisis.

V. Energy Shortages

Karachi, like many parts of Pakistan, grapples with energy shortages:

A. Frequent Load Shedding: Unplanned load shedding disrupts students’ study routines, making it difficult to rely on consistent electricity for lighting and electronic devices.

B. Economic Impact: Energy shortages also have a significant economic impact, affecting businesses and industries in Karachi, which, in turn, affects job opportunities for college graduates.

VI. Political Instability

Political instability has a far-reaching impact on Karachi’s problems:

A. Governance Challenges: Frequent changes in local and provincial governments have hindered long-term planning and the implementation of sustainable solutions to the city’s problems.

B. Ethnic Tensions: Karachi is known for its ethnic diversity, but political instability has sometimes fueled ethnic tensions, leading to violence and disruptions in daily life.

C. Corruption: Corruption within the bureaucracy can hinder development projects and the equitable distribution of resources.

VII. Crime and Security

Crime and security issues in Karachi are a concern for students and residents alike:

A. Street Crimes: Incidents of street crimes, such as theft and muggings, can make students and their families anxious about their safety.

B. Extortion: Some businesses and individuals face extortion threats, impacting their ability to operate freely.

C. Impact on Education: Security concerns can disrupt education, making it difficult for students to attend school or college regularly.

VIII. Environmental Degradation

Karachi’s environment is deteriorating rapidly, which can have long-term consequences for students:

A. Air Pollution: High levels of air pollution can lead to respiratory problems, affecting students’ health and concentration in school.

B. Coastal Degradation: Karachi’s coastline is under threat due to industrial pollution and unplanned development, impacting its natural beauty and ecosystem.

C. Climate Change: Karachi is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and sea-level rise, which can have far-reaching consequences for students’ lives.

IX. Educational Challenges

Finally, Karachi faces unique educational challenges:

A. Limited Access: Many children in the city, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, struggle to access quality education due to a lack of schools and resources.

B. Quality of Education: Even when schools are available, the quality of education varies widely, affecting students’ academic development.

C. Digital Divide: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide in Karachi, where many students lacked access to online learning resources.

In conclusion, Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most populous city, faces a multitude of interconnected problems that affect students and residents of all ages. These problems include overpopulation, traffic congestion, infrastructure decay, water and energy shortages, political instability, crime and security issues, environmental degradation, and educational challenges. Solving these issues requires concerted efforts from government authorities, civil society, and citizens. It is crucial for students to be aware of these problems and actively engage in finding solutions, as they represent the city’s future. Karachi’s challenges are immense, but with the right approach and commitment, they can be overcome to create a better and more livable city for all its residents.

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Problems of Karachi essay in English

Is writing problems of Karachi essay giving you a headache? Don’t worry! Our Problems of Karachi Essay in English is here for you. Professionally written, this essay is perfect for students of grades 6 to 10 and college. Available in 150, 200, 250 and 300 words and in 10 lines, get yours today and impress your professor!

Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and is home to a population of more than 17 million people. It is one of the most vibrant and rapidly-growing cities in the world. However, this population growth and urbanization have come with a number of problems, ranging from environmental issues to crime, to poor infrastructure. In this blog post, we will explore the various problems that Karachi faces and discuss potential solutions. We will examine the causes of these issues and how they can be addressed in order to create a better and more sustainable future for the city’s inhabitants.

 Problems of Karachi essay in 150 words

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan, but it has some big problems. One big problem is bad roads, which make it hard to drive and can cause problems with water and electricity. The city also has bad sewage systems, which can make the sea and underground water dirty. 

Safety is also a big worry, with a lot of crime and bad things happening to people. Plus, many people in Karachi don’t have jobs and are very poor. They also don’t have access to things like good healthcare and schools. 

Many people are living in very crowded, bad places called slums. It is important that the leaders and other people in charge take action and try to fix these problems and make the city a better place to live.

Problems of Karachi city essay 250 words

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan, but it has a lot of problems. These problems are affecting the people who live there and also the city’s growth. One of the major challenges the city is facing is the lack of proper infrastructure. The roads and transportation in Karachi are not good, so it’s hard for people to move around and there’s a lot of traffic. It’s also common for people to have problems with getting water and electricity, which makes it hard for them to do things they need to do every day.

Another significant problem that the city is facing is the poor sewage system. The sewage water is not disposed of, resulting in pollution of the sea and groundwater. This not only harms the environment but also poses a threat to the health of the citizens.

Security is also a major concern in Karachi. The city has a high crime rate, and incidents of targeted killings, extortion, and kidnappings are common. The presence of various armed groups and political parties is also a major issue, as it causes instability and fear among the residents.

Karachi’s economy is also struggling, with high unemployment and poverty rates. Many residents are unable to access basic services such as healthcare and education. The city’s slums are also growing at an alarming rate, further exacerbating the problem of poverty and lack of proper housing.

In summary, Karachi is facing many challenges that are hindering its growth and affecting the daily lives of its residents. It’s vital that the government and other key stakeholders take immediate action to tackle these issues and enhance the city’s infrastructure, security, and economy, to improve the living conditions for the residents of Karachi. This will make the city a better place to live for the residents. Only through collective efforts can we see a better future for Karachi.

Karachi is a big city in Pakistan, but it has some problems that make life hard for the people who live there. One big problem is that the city doesn’t have good roads and public transportation. This makes it hard for people to get around and causes traffic. Also, the power and water often don’t work well, which makes it hard for people to do things they need to do.

Another big problem in Karachi is that the sewage system is not good. This causes pollution in the sea and in the water people to drink. This is bad for the environment and also makes people sick. Also, people in Karachi don’t get rid of their trash. This makes the streets dirty and clogged drains.

Safety is another big worry in Karachi. The city has a lot of crime and people get hurt or killed a lot. Bad things like being kidnapped, threatened for money and targeted killings happen often. There are also many groups with weapons and different political parties, which makes the city feel unsafe and scary for the people who live there.

The economy of Karachi is also struggling, with high unemployment and poverty rates. Many residents are unable to access basic services such as healthcare and education. The city’s slums are also growing at an alarming rate, further exacerbating the problem of poverty and lack of proper housing.

To sum up, Karachi has many problems that make it hard for the city to grow and for the people who live there. The government and other important people need to take action now to fix these problems. They need to make the city’s roads, public transportation, and housing better. They also need to make sure people have clean water and power. Furthermore, they need to make sure the city is clean and safe. Only by working together can we make Karachi a better place to live. The government should also focus on sustainable solutions for waste management, transportation, and housing. Also, they should take action against criminal groups to improve the security situation and promote peace in the city.

10 problems of Karachi

• Lack of proper infrastructure
• Inadequate transportation system
• Severe traffic congestion
• Frequent power outages
• Water shortages
• Inadequate sewage system leading to pollution
• Poor disposal of waste
• High crime rate
• Incidents of targeted killings, extortion, and kidnappings
• The presence of various armed groups and political parties causes instability.

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Six major issues of Karachi

The 20 million people of Karachi, the biggest and the most diverse city of Pakistan, have been facing various problems for a long time. Crime, water scarcity, and power shortages are some of the major issues and the whole city seems to be trapped under the detrimental impacts of such life-threatening problems. Not only have these issues engulfed Pakistan’s economic hub, but they have also pulled the helpless people of Karachi into a quandary.

Through this newspaper, I would like to draw the attention of the central government and PTI’s strong opposition in Sindh, towards the six major issues of Karachi that need to be dealt with on a priority basis.

First, the city has suffered a lot with regards to a severe water crisis. However, if it is not managed, it could lead to violence in Karachi’s worst-hit areas. Thus, the issue demands immediate attention from the ruling government.

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Second, the deteriorating public transport in the most populous city of Pakistan has also added fuel to the fire. The metro and green bus projects are still yet to be completed. As a result, traffic jams have gotten even worse. People would not have faced this issue had there been a good and decent public transport system.

Third, illegal settlements and land grabbing must be eradicated from Karachi. Land mafias with political support continue to be a threat. The authorities concerned should root such mafias out from the soil of the city of light.

Fourth, at the university level, the education standard of Karachi has suffered due to lack of resources and inefficiency of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Providing adequate funds and proper attention to the HEC can be a viable solution to promote the standard of education in this megacity.

Fifth, Karachi, despite generating 60 percent of the federal revenue, hardly gets 10 percent of the federal resources. The joint efforts of federal and provincial government can take Karachi out of crime, power shortages, and unemployment. In this regard, Pakistan’s biggest and largest city needs federal resources that are more than 10 percent.

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Finally, pollution, poor urban planning and the absence of an adequate garbage and waste disposal system have turned Karachi into the world’s filthiest city. The authorities concerned must strengthen the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to address these issues. The government must also launch a public awareness campaign about pollution.

To sum it up, the issues are very serious. The people have suffered a lot from such deadly problems. However, with proper will and determination, the PTI led government can address these issues. Karachi, the city of light, can become an international trade and finance center once more.

MUAZZAM ALI,

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Parched for a price: Karachi's water crisis

By asad hashim.

Residents of Karachi, one of the largest cities in the world, are being held hostage by a ‘mafia’ that makes millions of dollars out of their need for water.

KARACHI, Pakistan - Orangi is a maze, a spider’s web of narrow, winding lanes, broken roads and endless rows of small concrete houses. More than two million people are crammed into what is one of the world’s largest unplanned settlements here in western Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.

But Orangi has a problem: it has run out of water.

“What water?” asks Rabia Begum, 60, when told the reason for Al Jazeera’s visit to her neighbourhood earlier this year. “We don’t get any water here.”

“We yearn for clean water to drink, that somehow Allah will give us clean water.”

It is so rare for water to flow through the taps here that residents say they have given up expecting it. The last time it flowed through the main pipeline in Begum’s neighbourhood, for example, was 33 days ago.

Instead, they are forced to obtain most of their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’). Ground water in the coastal city, however, tends to be salty, and unfit for human consumption.

“When we shower, our hair [becomes] sticky [with the salt], our heads feel heavy,” says Begum.

The only other option for residents is to buy unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city. A 1,000-gallon water tanker normally costs between $12 and $18. Begum says she has to order at least four tankers a month to meet the basic needs of her household of 10 people.

But not everyone in this working class neighbourhood can afford to buy water from the tankers or to pay the approximately $800 its costs to install a drilled well for non-drinking water.

“I’m piling up the dirty clothes, that’s how I save money,” says Farzana Bibi, 40, who manages a household of five people on an income of roughly $190 a month. “We bathe two days in a week.”

Asked how she gets by, with so little water coming via the taps and no access to a saltwater source to clean dishes or laundry, she seems resigned.

“I lessen my use. Sometimes I’ll take my clothes to my cousin’s house or my sister’s house to wash them. Sometimes I’ll get drinking water from them. One has to make do somehow.”

When she washes her clothes, she says, she makes sure not to leave the tap on. She’ll fill a basin with water and wash her dishes in that, rather than under running water. She waits until there is at least a fortnight’s worth of dirty clothes before beginning to wash them. Every drop of water, she says, needs to be accounted for.

But despite all this rationing, the water tank at her home is almost dry.

“There is a small amount of water,” she says. “I am saving it to drink. When I have money in my hands, I’ll get a tanker.”

Orangi’s problems, while acute, are not unique in Pakistan’s largest city. Karachi’s roughly 20 million residents regularly face water shortages, with working class neighbourhoods the worst hit by a failing distribution and supply system.

Areas such as Orangi, Baldia and Gadap, some of the most densely populated in the city, receive less than 40 percent of the water allotted to them, according to data collected by the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), an NGO that works on civic infrastructure and citizens’ rights in the area.

On average, residents in these areas use about 67.76 litres of water per day, according to data collected by Al Jazeera. That includes the water they use for drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, bathing and sanitary uses.

So what is going on here? How is it possible that in one of the largest cities in the world, there simply isn’t enough water being supplied? Is it because the reservoirs and water sources supplying Karachi just aren’t large enough for this rapidly expanding megacity?

The answer to these questions is somewhat surprising.

Where is Karachi's water going?

Karachi draws its water mainly from the Keenjhar Lake, a man-made reservoir about 150km from the city, which, in turn, gets the water from what’s left of the Indus River after it completes its winding 3,200km journey through Pakistan.

Through a network of canals and conduits, 550 million gallons of water a day (MGD) is fed into the city’s main pumping station at Dhabeji.

That 550MGD, however, never reaches those who need it. Of that water, a staggering 42 percent – or 235 MGD – is either lost or stolen before it ever reaches consumers, according to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), the city’s water utility.

Karachi’s daily demand for water should be about 1,100 MGD, based on UN standards for water consumption for the megacity of more than 20 million. If that estimate – considered generous by local analysts – were to be pared down, however, Karachi’s current water supply should still be adequate to service most of the city’s needs.

“If 550GMD of water actually reaches Karachi, then right now, with conditions as they are, we would be able to manage the situation very well and provide water to everyone,” says Ovais Malik, KWSB’s chief engineer, who has been working for the utility for more than 12 years.

So where is it all going?

Malik complains that the water supply infrastructure in the city is aged, parts of it running for more than 40 years, and that the funds simply are not there to fix the problems.

KWSB is, by any standard, a sick institution. This fiscal year, it estimates that it will be running at a deficit of 59.3 percent . Only about 60 percent of consumers pay their bills, with the biggest defaulters being government institutions themselves, which owe KWSB about $6 million in arrears.

Moreover, Karachi has expanded in a largely unplanned fashion over the last several decades, with informal settlements ‘regularised’, but not properly brought under the ambit of civic services, he says.

“Our [settled] area has grown too much. Our…system has not been able to bear it,” says Malik.

Farhan Anwar, an architect and urban planner, told Al Jazeera that KWSB was almost bankrupt.

“There is nothing left for any kind of maintenance or capital investment.”

That lack of capital investment affects not just the ability to provide water, but to make sure that it is clean enough to be consumed, Anwar argues.

“The water is obviously contaminated,” he says. “There are discharges, there are cross-connections of water, where sewage lines are leaking into supply lines. Construction practices are such that…often sewage lines are side by side with water lines, or even above them.”

And KWSB never seems able to get around to addressing these problems, several analysts said.

“There is corruption, inefficiency, political interference, so it’s an organisation rooted in a number of problems.… You need institutional reform, to begin with. Instead of starting by fixing the pipes, you need to fix the institution that fixes the pipes,” says Anwar.

The problem, however, is not just leakages and inefficiency in the system: it is theft.

The bulk of Karachi’s ‘lost’ water is being stolen and sold right back to the people it was meant for in the first place.

Who is stealing Karachi’s water?

Akhtari Begum, 48, has to manage a household of five people on her husband’s income of $160 a month.

She ends up spending more than a third of that on water.

“Water does come [in the main line], but it gets stolen before it gets to us,” she says. “So we don’t get any water, we have to get tankers.”

A typical 1,000-gallon water tanker costs anywhere between $12 and $16, depending on where you are in the city, what time of year it is, and how desperate you might be.

Water tankers have been a part of Karachi’s water supply landscape for decades. Initially introduced as a stop-gap measure while the KWSB was meant to be expanding the city’s water supply infrastructure, they have grown to dominate the sector.

Today, there are more than 10,000 tankers operating across the city, completing roughly 50,000 trips a day, according to Noman Ahmed, the head of the architecture and urban planning department at Karachi’s NED University. They are meant to fill up at 10 KWSB-operated hydrants , but the business is so lucrative that more than 100 illegal hydrants operate across the city, tapping into the city’s mains to steal water.

“There are more than a hundred of them [illegal hydrants], and those are just the ones that have been identified. Every day there’s a new one being made somewhere,” says Anwar Rashid, a director at the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), which tracks the tankers’ illegal activity.

“They’re visible easily. They tap into the bulk mainline. They syphon off the water. And then there are tankers standing there, and they’ll fill up directly from the [illegal hydrant] and then drive off.

“When they take from the bulk, then that means that the water that was meant for residential areas will be reduced,” says Rashid.

The scale of the theft is staggering.

If tankers in Karachi are making 50,000 trips a day, with each trip priced at an average price of Rs3,000 (prices vary between Rs1,200 to Rs7,000), that amounts to an industry that is generating Rs150,000,000 a day.

That’s $1.43 million, every day. In a month, that adds up to $42.3 million. By the end of the year, stealing water in Karachi is an industry worth more than half a billion dollars.

"The mafia is very strong"

“We have carried out more than 400 operations against illegal hydrants in recent years,” Rizwan Hyder, a spokesperson for the KWSB, told Al Jazeera. “We are acting against these things … and working with the police …. We have lodged scores of cases against people operating illegal hydrants. The local police station chief in the area where [there is] a hydrant is the one who is responsible for acting against them. The moment they inform us, we act against it. In the last few days, we have taken action against three illegal hydrants in Manghopir [near Orangi Town].”

But the people who are meant to be controlling the theft are the ones cashing in, tanker operators, analysts and former KWSB employees told Al Jazeera.

“Unauthorised hydrants are run with the connivance of the water board and the police,” claims Hazoor Ahmed Khan, the head of one of the city’s main water tanker unions. “There are about 100 illegal hydrants still operating in the city…most of them are in Manghopir, in Baldia, in Malir, in Landhi, and Korangi. They’re running in Ayub Goth on the Super Highway.”

“[Illegal hydrants] can only be run by people who are in the government, or in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, the police, or the revenue department,” claims the OPP’s Rashid. “And they all have the share in it.

His view is borne out by a former KWSB chief, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the subject.

“The mafia is very strong …. There is no doubt that the illegal connections that are made, our KWSB man knows about it. Even if it is an [illegal] connection within a building, he will know that a connection has been installed in the night,” he says.

“The valve man takes his money, the assistant engineer takes his money … I could never say that there is no corruption in the KWSB. But I also know that the builder has so much influence, that no matter who [the KWSB chief] is … he will get a call from [a] minister [or senior bureaucrat] to just do it.”

The ex-chief said he had himself received phone calls of this nature. Another current senior KWSB official who asked to remain anonymous confirmed that he, too, had received such phone calls from members of the government, asking him to curb operations against illegal hydrants.

The result is a system where water is being stolen, commodified and then sold to citizens through the free market. A market, analysts say, that inherently favours the rich over the poor.

“The social contract, regarding what is the role of the state vis-a-vis the people, that is now mediated through the medium of money and privatisation,” says Daanish Mustafa, a professor of geography at Kings College London who studies the sector. “The rights-based approach to water, that water is a fundamental right of the people and a fundamental responsibility of the state, that has ended.

“Who is going to make money getting water to a poor man? Where there is money, the water will reach very quickly, and very easily.”

When asked about KWSB personnel being involved in the theft of water, the KWSB’s Hyder told Al Jazeera, “It has never been our position that no member of our organisation is involved [in the theft of water]. But the moment someone is found [to be] involved in this, they are fired and charged under the law. We have charged our own staff … we have zero tolerance for this.”

There are periodic drives to shut down these illegal operations. But none last for long.

“If there is ever a crackdown, if there is pressure, they do not cut the [hydrants] on the bulk mains, they just demolish a little bit of the infrastructure [of theft], and then four days later it’s back up and running,” says Rashid.

“The illegal hydrants are still running. They can never be shut,” says the former KWSB chief.

If the very people responsible for shutting down the illegal theft of water are the ones benefitting from it, who will watch the watchmen?

“If I fix the water system in an area, then no one will take a tanker. If we fix the system, whatever illegality is happening will [be] finished,” says the current senior KWSB official.

“These things are possible. We can do them,” he adds. “But we don’t want to do them.”

Can’t afford it, can’t live without it

For 16 years, Ali Asghar, 75, tended to his small herd of cows and buffalo on a small plot of land behind his cramped four-room house in Orangi. Four years ago, when the water supply to his area began to suffer, he had to give them up.

Today, his entire household of 17 people is dependent on water bought from tankers.

The biggest injustice, he says, is that he is still paying his bills to KWSB, for water that never comes.

“The [mains] pipe is lying out there, completely dry,” he says. “This is how it is in this whole neighbourhood.”

“The people of the water board are the ones who are doing this. They are the ones who create the water crisis, and they’re the ones who don’t provide the water, and take the bills,” he says, his voice rising in exasperation. “For every job, there is a price. And if you don’t have money, you won’t get anything done.”

A few streets away in Orangi’s spider web, Rabia Begum says the city’s poor are trapped because no matter what the price, people need water.

“We cannot tolerate the expense of water … and we cannot live without it,” she says.

In March 2013, four gunmen on motorcycles boxed in a car near the Qasba Mor intersection in Orangi. They proceeded to spray the car with bullets, killing its occupant, Perween Rehman.

Rehman was the director of OPP, and had worked tirelessly for the rights of Karachi’s working class communities, particularly when it came to land titles and access to water. Much of her research focused on documenting the locations of illegal water hydrants, for which she received several death threats.

Shortly before her murder, Rehman spoke to a documentary crew, who were making a film about her work. Her words ring as true today, four years later.

“It is not the poor who steal the water. It is stolen by a group of people who have the full support of the government agencies, the local councillors, mayors and the police; all are involved.”

Who will watch the watchmen, while the poor remain parched – for a price?

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Essay on karachi – 500 words, 500 words essay on karachi, introduction.

Karachi is the largest city and most populous city in Pakistan. It is the former capital of Pakistan and now serves as the capital of the province of Sindh. Karachi is also most notoriously known as the “City of Lights,” Karachi is a bustling metropolis with a population of over 21 million people. The city households people of every ethnicity, religion, and race. This includes Balochies, Urdu speakers, Punjabis, etc.

Important in Pakistan’s Economy

Karachi plays a vital role in the economy of Pakistan, with a thriving port and a large industrial base. Karachi holds almost 200% of Pakistan’s GDP. Karachi partakes in 35% of the total earned revenue of Pakistan in the fiscal year of July 2021 to jun2022. The city is home to Pakistan’s stock exchange. Karachi also generates about 25% of the industrial output.

Rich culture

Karachi has a rich history and culture. Karachi has been habited for millennia now but with a different name. Karachi was previously known as ‘Kalachi’. Karachi has many historical landmarks and monuments. The most famous of these is the Mohatta Palace, a beautiful building that was built in the 1920s in the Art Deco style. The palace is now a museum and is open to the public. Another famous landmark is the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum, which is dedicated to the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The mausoleum is a popular tourist destination and is an important symbol of national unity. Karachi also houses

Karachi is also home to many beautiful beaches, such as Clifton Beach, which is one of the most popular spots for locals and tourists alike. Karachi was also called Paris of the east because of the beautiful outposts it holds. Because of the vast diverse population of Karachi consisting of almost every ethnicity including Bengalis, Karachi is home to some of the most famous Pakistani dishes and cuisines. Karachi is also notorious for its street vendors.

The Problems

But of course, all that glitters is not gold. Karachi faces a lot of problems practically the highest in the whole country. This includes a lack of infrastructure and inadequate public transportation. Karachi is also the biggest hub of crime rates in Pakistan. This includes robbery, mobile snatching, kidnapping, etc.

The city is also suffering from some major issues such as pollution, water scarcity, and poor waste management. This makes life in Karachi extremely hard and unhealthy and even dangerous.

Karachi also serves as the graveyard for some of the worst times in Pakistan’s history. This includes bomb blasts, hijacking of airplanes, and other major terrorist attacks.

Countermeasures

The government of Pakistan has taken steps to address these issues and to improve the city’s infrastructure. New projects have been launched, such as the construction of a new airport and the expansion of the city’s metro system. The government of Pakistan has been trying constantly to install countermeasures to combat these issues but the unstable government and the changing of policies of the government of Pakistan have badly hurt the city of Karachi.

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English Essay Problems of Karachi

Problems of Karachi

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan and one of the most thickly populated cities in the world. Its population has increased rapidly and accordingly has given rise to many social problems. People of this metropolis are becoming more and more concerned about solving these serious problems, some of which are discussed below.

The ever-increasing rush of heavy traffic on the roads is resulting in heavy loss of human life. One day or the other, people suffer from accidents due to reckless driving. Some lose their vehicles and some go to the police. This is due to lack of civic sense in the citizens and violation of traffic rules. Traffic jams, road quarrels, untidiness and damage of public property are also the results of this problem. The government has not done any planning to control this situation in the past two decades.

In the same manner, the government has never emphasized upon population distribution. As a result, slum areas are rapidly being built, where poor labor lives. The disordered development of small houses is spoiling the outlook of the city, as well as creating problems of illegal electric connections, water supply and pollution. The authorities have failed to reclaim the locations from these people.

Another problem faced by the citizens of the city is the frequent power breakdowns. Every other day, K.E.S.C cuts down the electric supply without notice. This becomes a great hurdle for industries and that use electric machinery for their work. Disturbance and shortage of water supply is also a cause of discomfort among the citizens. Sometimes, the dirty and unfiltered water becomes a major factor in food poisoning, which usually takes place on celebrations, when demand of water in the city increases.

Lack of environmental care among people and drivers of public service vehicles is giving rise to pollution problems. Dust fills the air in most of the roads all the time. Improper turned cars fill the atmosphere with deadly smoke at hours of rush, which causes disease among the police officers and common public.

Karachi is also often subjected to terrorist activities. Bomb blasts and firings at public spots are resulting in great loss of human life. The terrorists deserve no less than capital punishment. It is the duty of the police to intensify their investigation to stop such activities.

For the well to do class, life in Karachi may be fascinating, but for other citizens it is a center of drawbacks. It is only through the concentrated efforts of each person, including the members of law-enforcing and administrative agencies, can we overcome these serious problems of the metropolis.

United States Institute of Peace

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In Karachi, Flooding Lays Bare City’s Governance Issues

Weeks after historic rainfall, fractured local governance has left some sections of Pakistan’s largest city still recovering.

By: Jumaina Siddiqui; Cyril Almeida

Publication Type: Analysis

Many parts of Pakistan have always struggled with flooding, especially over the last decade, due in part to climate change as weather events have become more extreme. But for Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, August saw immense rainfall—breaking all previous records in the past century—and widespread flooding that brought the city to a standstill. USIP’s Jumaina Siddiqui and Cyril Almeida look at why Karachi’s flooding situation is so dire, how contentious political dynamics have impeded governance reforms in the city, and what can be done to prevent future humanitarian disasters.

Pakistan faces problems with monsoons and flooding every year, why was the situation in Karachi so dire this time? 

Siddiqui: While other parts of the country endured record rainfall as well, the flooding was minimal—like in the case of Lahore, where the water had all drained away within 24-36 hours thanks to improved infrastructure.

Karachi was the absolute opposite. With sustained rainfall over the course of the entire month, over 40 people died as a result of the flooding, negatively impacting an economy that was already struggling to recover as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even weeks later, some areas are still feeling the impact of the flooding and citizens fear that any further rainfall could bring the city to a standstill once again.

This flooding impacted both urban and rural areas. In urban centers, the flooding is due mainly to poor infrastructure and lack of a proper solid waste management system. In rural areas, this flooding impacts rivers and irrigation canals, adversely affecting both industry and agriculture alike.

Even areas where the flood waters have reduced or receded, the garbage and sewage remain—leaving a secondary health nightmare for the most impoverished communities in Karachi. People from all socioeconomic strata struggled to find clean drinking water during the flood, and some areas are still struggling. In addition to no clean drinking water and unsanitary conditions, citizens continue to face electricity shortages as well. The flooding of homes has created significant homelessness, especially in the kachi abadis (slum areas). All of these problems stem from the city being poorly governed and exploited by multiple political parties vying for control of the city’s economic resources, but all failing to deliver basic services to its residents. 

The political dimensions of the governance problems in Karachi are long-standing and seemingly intractable. Why has it been so difficult to find a reasonably effective governance strategy in Karachi?

Almeida: Pakistan’s largest city has outsized political problems. It has been virtually impossible to align the city, provincial, and national governments—in addition to the civil- and military-run administrative divisions in the city—in a sustainable manner. Politically, Karachi had been dominated by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) since the 1980s, but a state-led operation since 2013 has dismantled the party. Its remnants, the various MQM factions, have been unable to band together, leaving a power vacuum in the city. Pakistan’s 2018 general elections saw the nationally ruling Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) party capture a majority of seats in Karachi, but many of the winners were first-time candidates and political novices without governance experience.

A second problem is the political dynamics of Sindh: urban, Urdu-speaking Karachi votes one way; rural, Sindhi-speaking Sindh votes another way. Over the last three elections, the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) dominance of rural Sindh has allowed it to lead the provincial government while having a relatively small voter base in Karachi. So, despite being the provincial capital, the country’s most populous city, and the primary residence for most of Sindh’s political leaders, Karachi’s urban problems are often not of direct political consequence to the provincial government.

A third problem is center-province tensions. When rival parties lead the federal and Sindh governments, as is the case with the PTI and PPP at present, Karachi is left in limbo when it comes to the funding and implementation of large infrastructure projects and urban overhaul.

Finally, there is the administrative jigsaw that is Karachi itself, with overlapping and intersecting areas of civilian and military administration in the city. City-wide storm water drainage, for example, is near-impossible to plan in the presence of rival and overlapping administrative fiefdoms, a by-product of the geographical expansion of Karachi and the creation of military-run upscale housing areas.

Karachi, as a megacity, has undergone unchecked growth and urbanization. The floods have put this into stark light, with both elites and the average resident protesting the government’s response—or lack thereof. How will this exacerbate tensions within the city? 

Siddiqui: In their efforts to clean the nalas (drainage canals)—one of the causes of the historic flooding this past month—local government authorities in Karachi demolished a number of illegal settlements and commercial areas. Some of this demolition had started before the floods and before the pandemic, which had already created an uproar among small business owners. However, the demolition of homes during the floods creates a greater likelihood for a humanitarian crisis in a city already struggling to recover from both the floods and the COVID-19 economic crisis.

The problem in Karachi is that various local government entities have allowed rapid and massive construction of housing areas, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings without any consultation with the offices and departments that have purview over the projects and without any environmental impact oversight. Over time, the illegally built homes blocked the drainage waterways (and their associated garbage and sewage) along the nalas .

Most of the elites in Karachi, in general, couldn’t be less bothered by the illegal construction or its subsequent destruction. However, these floods impacted both the elites and the average person alike—city-wide power outages and flooding did not discriminate by economic status this time around. For the first time in recent memory, we saw the elite of Karachi protesting for lack of services.

Could this crisis become a catalyst for positive change in the megacity? What are the prospects for an improvement in governance and service delivery in Karachi? 

Almeida: As noted above, the rain and its aftermath were indiscriminate in affecting Karachi. Commercial, industrial, and residential areas—both affluent and poor—all suffered, and in some cases for days and weeks. Unified in outrage, the city’s beleaguered residents were offered some immediate help: The army chief and prime minister visited Karachi and pledged military and federal resources to aid with the clean-up and cleared choked drainage systems, and a new administrator for the city has been appointed by the Sindh provincial government.

If there is to be durable change in Karachi, an empowered city government is the most likely path. But city governance is only a third of the local government system, below the federal and provincial tiers. And in Sindh, fresh political battle lines are being drawn with local government elections on the cards. The PTI wants a local government system with more resources and greater autonomy and has legally challenged the system introduced by the PPP, which concentrated power at the provincial tier. For its part, the PPP wants a dispute over the 2017 census resolved before the next local government elections are held in Sindh, which is a potentially fraught issue that will determine the official size of Sindh’s population versus the rest of Pakistan and urban Sindh’s population versus rural Sindh—all issues that affect apportionment of electoral districts at all levels.

An activist judiciary is likely to try and break the political deadlock, but better governance in Karachi is unlikely to be delivered by judicial fiat. Karachi’s troubles are far from climate-related alone: The city is in the grips of a prolonged electricity crisis and a gas crisis is expected to intensify this winter. Perhaps a perfect storm of troubles will force the political leadership to find a modicum of relief for Karachi.

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From wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to rising tensions in the South China Sea, there is no shortage of crises to occupy the time and attention of U.S. policymakers. But three years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat of terrorism emanating from South Asia remains strong and policymakers need to be more vigilant. Indeed, at the end of March, an Afghanistan-based affiliate of ISIS launched a devastating attack outside of Moscow, killing over 140 people.

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As Fragile Kashmir Cease-Fire Turns Three, Here’s How to Keep it Alive

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By: Christopher Clary

At midnight on the night of February 24-25, 2021, India and Pakistan reinstated a cease-fire that covered their security forces operating “along the Line of Control (LOC) and all other sectors” in Kashmir, the disputed territory that has been at the center of the India-Pakistan conflict since 1947. While the third anniversary of that agreement is a notable landmark in the history of India-Pakistan cease-fires, the 2021 cease-fire is fragile and needs bolstering to be maintained.

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Days after Pakistan’s February 8 general election, the Election Commission of Pakistan released the official results confirming a major political upset. Contrary to what most political pundits and observers had predicted, independents aligned with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats at the national level, followed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). No party won an absolute majority needed to form a government on its own. The resultant uncertainty means the United States may have to contend with a government that is more focused on navigating internal politics and less so on addressing strategic challenges.

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Tamanna Salikuddin on Pakistan’s Elections

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Essay on problems of Karachi

Problems of Karachi essay in English. Available in 150, 200, 250 and 300 words and in 10 lines. Good for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and college grade students.

Karachi is the biggest city and economic hub of Pakistan. It was formed as the capital of the country in 1947 after independence. Due to its charm, advance infrastructure and sea port, people from all over the country migrate to Karachi to get quality education and employment. As everything is available in the city, each type of business has its office in the city. As Karachi is the city of huge population, there are numerous problems exist. We will discuss few of them below:

Traffic and Transport issues – The number of buses in the city are very low as compared to the population. As a result, people face severe difficulty in travelling from one location to the other. Apart from this, traffic police does not play its role with honesty and not found in areas where traffic jams issues are common.

• Water Shortage Problem – this is one of the biggest issue. Karachities have to wait even for a month to get the water from Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB). Even KWSB charges people every month but the quality of service is very bad. There is no way to lodge a complaint against the KWSB and its staff. People are helpless in the city.
• Power Breakdown – K Electric is the sole power supply company in Karachi. Due to its monopoly, it does not take care of the people. Power Breakdown is very common due to inefficiency of the management. People face several hours of load shedding despite they pay heavy amount of bills every month. The bills are sent mostly in average basis. This is totally injustice with the people of Karachi who already pay a huge amount of tax every year on their income.
• Broken Roads – the roads and bridges are not in good situations. You will find several cracks on the roads. This causes a lot of accidents every day. Govt levies various types of tax such as vehicle tax, property tax and provincial taxes but their usage for the public is almost zero. The corruption in Government department is high. As a result, low quality raw material is used in the construction of roads. When rain comes, all constructed roads get demolished within few hours.
• Health issues – due to less focus on health sector from Government, people are facing severe health issues such as liver and stomach diseases. This is mainly due to the supply of contaminated water to the residents of Karachities.

Check out the new Essay on Allama Iqbal in URDU .

300 Words Essay

Karachi is the biggest city and economic hub of Pakistan. It was formed as the capital of the country in 1947 after independence. Due to its charm, advance infrastructure and sea port, people from all over the country migrate to Karachi to get quality education and employment. As everything is available in the city, each type of business has its office in the city.

As Karachi is the city of huge population, there are numerous problems exist. We will discuss few of them below:

Water Shortage Problem – this is one of the biggest issue. Karachities have to wait even for a month to get the water from Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB). Even KWSB charges people every month but the quality of service is very bad.

Power Breakdown – K Electric is the sole power supply company in Karachi. Due to its monopoly, it does not take care of the people. Power Breakdown is very common due to inefficiency of the management. People face several hours of load shedding despite they pay heavy amount of bills every month. The bills are sent mostly in average basis. This is totally injustice with the people of Karachi.

Broken Roads – the roads and bridges are not in good situations. You will find several cracks on the roads. This causes a lot of accidents every day. Govt levies various types of tax such as vehicle tax, property tax and provincial taxes but their usage for the public is almost zero.

Karachi is the biggest city and economic hub of Pakistan. It was formed as the capital of the country in 1947 after independence. Due to its charm, advance infrastructure and sea port, people from all over the country migrate to Karachi to get quality education and employment. As Karachi is the city of huge population, there are numerous problems exist. We will discuss few of them below:

Traffic issues – The number of buses in the city are very low as compared to the population. As a result, people face severe difficulty in travelling from one location to the other.

Water Shortage Problem – this is one of the biggest issue. Karachities have to wait even for a month to get the water from Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB). There is no way to lodge a complaint against the KWSB and its staff.

Power Breakdown – K Electric is the sole power supply company in Karachi. Due to its monopoly, it does not take care of the people. People face several hours of load shedding despite they pay heavy amount of bills every month. This is totally injustice with the people of Karachi who already pay a huge amount of tax every year on their income.

Power Breakdown – K Electric is the sole power supply company in Karachi. Due to its monopoly, it does not take care of the people. People face several hours of load shedding despite they pay heavy amount of bills every month. This is totally injustice with the people of Karachi.

Problems of Karachi Essay 150 Words

Power Breakdown – K Electric is the sole power supply company in Karachi. Due to its monopoly, it does not take care of the people.

Broken Roads – the roads and bridges are not in good situations. You will find several cracks on the roads. This causes a lot of accidents every day.

100 Words Essay on Karachi Problems and Issues

Karachi is the biggest city and economic hub of Pakistan. It was formed as the capital of the country in 1947 after independence. As Karachi is the city of huge population, there are numerous problems exist. We will discuss few of them below:

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Essay On Problems Of Karachi City For Class 10

In this Essay on problems of Karachi city for class 10 students, we talk about many big problems that this busy city deals with every day. Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and it faces many problems such as not enough good roads, unfair gap between rich and poor people, and damage to the environment. Learning about these problems and trying to solve them helps students think more carefully and solve problems better. In this article, we will discuss the main problems of Karachi and try to find ways to improve the situation.

Table of Contents

Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, encounters many problems that have made life tough for its people. One big issue is that the law and order are getting worse. There’s a lot of crime, violence, and terrorism, which makes it hard to keep things peaceful and stable. This has made people feel scared and unsafe.

Another problem is that there’s not enough water, electricity, and gas for everyone. Karachi gets very hot, and when the power goes out or there’s no water, it makes life even harder for the people living there. Moreover, the absence of good infrastructure has caused a lot of traffic jams, making it hard for people to travel around the city.

The pollution in Karachi is concerning, as both the air and water quality are severely impacted. The city generates a huge amount of waste, often disposed of in landfills, leading to environmental hazards.

Also Read: Education System of Pakistan

Education and healthcare are also big problems in Karachi. Despite having many schools and hospitals, the quality of education and healthcare is not very good, and medical treatment costs a lot of money.

In conclusion, Karachi is dealing with many complex problems. The government must act quickly and effectively to solve these issues, improve residents’ living conditions, and restore the city’s reputation.

Essay On Problems Of Karachi City For Class 10 in 150 words

Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, faces significant challenges. One major issue is its poor road conditions, making driving difficult and impacting utilities like water and electricity. Additionally, inadequate sewage systems contribute to water pollution in the sea and underground.

Safety is a major concern in Karachi, with high rates of crime and incidents affecting residents. Additionally, unemployment and poverty are widespread, limiting access to essential services such as healthcare and education for many people in the city.

Many people in Karachi reside in overcrowded and poor-quality settlements known as slums. It’s crucial for leaders and authorities to take action and address these issues to improve living conditions and make the city a better place to reside.

Problems of Karachi city essay 250 words

Karachi faces numerous challenges that impact both its residents and its development. It is the largest city in Pakistan. One significant issue is the inadequate infrastructure, particularly the poor condition of roads and transportation. This leads to difficulties in commuting and contributes to heavy traffic congestion. Additionally, residents often encounter problems accessing water and electricity, which hinders their daily activities and routines.

Another notable issue confronting the city is its inadequate sewage system. The untreated sewage water leads to pollution of the sea and groundwater, posing environmental hazards and health risks to the residents.

Security is also a significant worry in Karachi. The city grapples with a high crime rate, including common occurrences of targeted killings, extortion, and kidnappings. The presence of different armed groups and political parties further contributes to instability and fear among the residents.

The economy of Karachi is facing challenges, with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Many residents struggle to access essential services like healthcare and education. Moreover, the city’s slums are rapidly expanding, worsening the issues of poverty and inadequate housing.

In conclusion, Karachi is grappling with numerous challenges that impede its progress and impact the lives of its residents. Urgent action from the government and other stakeholders is crucial to address these issues and improve the city’s infrastructure, security, and economy. This will enhance living conditions for Karachi’s residents and create a better quality of life. Collective efforts are essential for a brighter future for Karachi.

Problems Of Karachi Essay in English

Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, is dealing with a lot of problems that affect the lives of its people in many ways. Even though it’s the main economic center of Pakistan, the city is struggling with various issues like infrastructure, security, health, and education. In this essay, we’ll examine some of Karachi’s problems and how they affect its citizens.

One of Karachi’s biggest problems is its infrastructure. The city is known for its crowded roads, damaged sidewalks, and old buildings. The transportation system is in bad shape, with buses and trains often late, and many people have to use their vehicles because there aren’t enough public transportation options. This leads to huge traffic jams that make going to work or school very difficult.

Another problem troubling Karachi is its high crime rate. The city is infamous for being unsafe, with street crime, burglaries, and car thefts happening frequently. The police force often faces criticism for not effectively controlling crime, leaving many citizens feeling unprotected. Consequently, a lot of people live in fear, and the lack of security has discouraged foreign investment.

The healthcare system in Karachi is also facing serious challenges. The city doesn’t have enough medical facilities, and many hospitals are overcrowded and don’t have enough staff. There aren’t enough doctors and nurses, so patients often have to wait a long time to get treatment. Because of this, the mortality rate, especially among children and the elderly, has gone up.

The education system in Karachi is also encountering many difficulties. Government schools are frequently overcrowded, and the quality of education is low. Many schools don’t have essential amenities like clean water, toilets, and electricity. Consequently, lots of parents have to send their children to expensive private schools, which many poor families can’t afford. This has widened the gap between the rich and the poor and led to more people being unable to read and write.

Another major problem in Karachi is its environmental degradation, which has significant consequences. The city faces issues such as air and water pollution, deforestation, and inadequate waste disposal. The rapid expansion of industries has caused air pollution, and the absence of proper sewage systems has resulted in contaminated water. Additionally, the unplanned growth of the city has led to deforestation, worsening the situation further.

In conclusion, Karachi is confronting numerous challenges. The problems outlined above are only a glimpse of the many issues the city is dealing with. Urgent action from the government is necessary to improve the quality of life for its citizens. A comprehensive plan addressing infrastructure, security, health, education, and the environment is essential. Only then can Karachi reach its full potential as a flourishing metropolis.

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Traffic Congestion: A Look Into Karachi’s Transport Crisis

Karachi is the capital of the Sindh province in Pakistan and home to over 14 million residents, making it the 8 th most populous city in the world.

Karachi is also known as one of the worst metropolitan cities to live in on Earth.

Why is it, you may ask, that the financial capital and political hub of Pakistan is facing such a predicament? As The Express Tribune highlights, the state of the environment, economy, and quality of life in Karachi are all poor due to its non-existent public transport system and ineffective transport infrastructure. Currently, residents spend hours trapped on clogged roads to commute to and from work everyday, creating mass amounts of smog, hinders productivity, and causes mass frustration within the population.

Currently, the Pakistan Peoples Party have promised to develop and improve the traffic problem of Karachi to rectify issues present in the city’s physical infrastructure. Their plan is to expand lanes and build new roads; however, this call to action may be a detriment rather than a solution. Building new roads, ironically, causes more traffic, as more people are then encouraged to drive and use cars as their primary source of transportation. Furthermore, adding newer routes in the city will add more time to everyone’s travel times , as reflected in the Braess Paradox discussed in class. People will try to utilize the newer routes, thinking their travel time will be minimized. But if everyone uses the newer road, even more congestion and blockage will arise.

Looking at this through the perspective of game theory, we see that adding roads is akin to adding another strategy to a game. Each driver, a player in the game, now has a new option to get to their destination. They will pick their routes independently from each other, and choose the new path, not taking into account that everyone else will also utilize this new strategy for the exact same reason. However, now all the alternative routes have been ignored, creating only one path that all the players will want to take.

Therefore, this idea, while well-meaning, certainly won’t help to ease the many troubles Karachi faces in regards to its infrastructure, environment, and quality of life. So, what will?

PHOTO SOURCE: CYCLING PROMOTION FUND

Looking through the lens of game theory, a way to decrease travel time is to decrease the number of people on the road. A viable solution to make this happen in Karachi is to develop public systems of transportation instead and to incite people to use public transport instead. By creating more bus routes and increasing the number of buses on the road, in total there will be less automobiles on the road (i.e. less “players” in our game). As shown in the above photo, using public transport saves a considerable amount of space, and thereby a considerable amount of time.

By using game theory, the government in Pakistan and road engineers can develop a master urban plan that will actually revitalize the infrastructure of Karachi and ease the hours and hours of blockage people have to endure everyday.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1254115/cost-karachi-pays-inefficient-public-transport-system/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1351571/expanding-roads-will-not-ease-traffic-karachi/

September 18, 2017 | category: Uncategorized

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Problems of Karachi Essay Example

• Pages: 5 (1162 words)
• Published: May 16, 2017
• Type: Case Study

Karachi is a heart of Pakistan carrying multi cultural values from all over the subcontinent and the economical hub, finance generator of Pakistan, generating 68% of revenue for Pakistan. Sudden and rapid growth of problems are taking place in the city due to which citizens from all walks of life are suffering, from business men to school children and students. Main cause of sudden growth may be the result of political rifts and differences amongst the political parties due to which citizens are largely suffering.

Pillion Riding Ban: Pillion riding ban was imposed for 3 days last year in November which is still imposed. It has greatly increased the problems for the citizens and they are forced to travel in rickshaws, busses and taxies unwillingly paying unfair demanded fares. Knowing the problem that they canno

t travel on bikes, drivers and bus conductors ultimately demand unfair fares and rents to their destination and due to which they often misbehave with passengers knowing that they (citizens) do not have any other option for travel.Besides the demand of unfair fare, other hitch is the increasing robbery and looting in busses.

It is becoming the usual that armed robbers get in the busses, rob people without any hesitation and then get off from the bus at the next stop, no prominent cure is provided for this problem. New fashion of transport strike (wheel jam) is increasing and it is not wrong to say that these strikes are being backed by the political party and mostly strikes are called for political motives. Yes! The motives are political but citizens suffer.A person who is earning on a daily basis won’t be able

to earn because transport is not available due to strike and cannot travel on a bike along with his friend because there is a ban on pillion riding in the city and the same goes for the students and citizens from all walks of life. Citizens, who were caught doing pillion ridings for some reasons, were caught and convicted in police stations and then later on released on bail. Youngsters and students suffered the most from this as they were forcefully criminalized and convicted to the lockups of local police stations with handcuffs on.

Literate citizens of Karachi especially youngsters and students are treated as professional criminals in the name of pillion riding and by convicting and locking them up, impression is given that the citizens including youngsters and students are professional criminals. Instead of terrorists, murderers and robbers, police lockups seem to be filled with literate citizens. Few days ago, a student of 1sy year (intermediate part1) missed his exam when he was getting towards his examination center at gulzar e hijri on a bike along with his brother and he was caught and convicted for pillion riding and missed his examination on that day.Artificial Load shedding Another core issue of Karachi is the lack of electricity, which is mostly an artificial crisis increasing the problems of the citizens and frustrating them.

Karachi being an economical hub with thousands of industries and factories, traders and businessmen all over the city is suffering due to the lack of electricity as load shedding is being done during working hours due to which the economy of city is getting down rapidly. Persons responsible for the artificial load shedding

should know that Karachi is earning 68% of the total revenue of Pakistan. Enmity with Karachi is enmity with Pakistan and its economy.Not only traders and business man are suffering but citizens from all walks of life are suffering due to artificial load shedding especially students.

Nowadays there are examinations of all boards underway including Intermediate, Post and Pre Graduate and students are suffering from long lasting load shedding and their studies and examination preparations are suffering greatly. Besides all these prominent problems due to load shedding there are many domestic problems occurring which are becoming the cause of mental torture for citizens which is increasing the frustration among the citizens.In this extremely hot weather, lack of electricity is increasing. The lack of water and water supply in domestic and industrial areas is being affected, further increasing the problems of city and citizens. The related officials are being silent and careless, with regards to the artificial crisis. It is a clear indication that this artificial crisis has some reason and might be a part of political feud from which citizens are suffering.

In this regard, City council Naib City Nazim and City Nazim extended their hands towards KECS and offered them that they are ready to cooperate on any thing for the solution of the crisis but KESC officials did not respond to the offer, may be due to political pressures. Land Grabbing Land grabbing is another issue that is creating a fuss and disturbance in the city. Land mafia seems to be very powerful with complete political backing, taking away the lands owned by citizens and also government’s land. No one can dare to resist

them as they are heavily armed and have political backing.Different gangs of land mafia clashing with each other disturbing the peace of city and if someone tries to resist, mafia excellently give it the ethnic color.

It is right to say that these land grabbers and land mafia are using the ethnic excuse to create a fuss in a city and are responsible for the ethnic tension in the city. This entire circle of land mafia, politicians and officials of law enforcement agency are responsible for the ethnic rifts in the city in order to save the illegal lands. DRUGS: Use of drugs is increasing in the city and good number of youth is being targeted by drug mafia.In Karachi, some 2 million youth and children are at the risk of drug addiction, as prevalence of drug addiction in very high in this mega city. A Karachi-based NGO working on the issues of street children and youth reported to a reputable news agency (The Nation) that in Karachi over two million youth are addicted, and rest of the youth and children are at also at a high risk of drug addiction, as drug trafficking is prevailing in every part of the city.

In Karachi the main addiction is of Hashish, because this drug is easily available at every nook and corner of the city.The main trafficking areas of hashish are Sohrab Goth, Banaras, Pahar Ganj, Azam Basti, Frontier Colon, Qaida Bad, Chanessar Goth, Dhobi Ghat and Massan near Keamair, Umer Farooq Colony, Mango Per, SITE, Muzafarbad Colony, Bilal Colony, Pehlwan Goth, Nata Khan Goth and Bhitai Colony. Drug mafia also seems to be operating with

a political backing and law enforcement agencies have failed to stop the rapid growth of the drug trafficking in city. Drug mafia also has taken the ethnic cover and under the ethnic cover their drug business is flourishing with the backing of some personals of law enforcement agency and some prominent political figures.

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Essay - Karachi City of Problems

Karachi city of problems, practical centre essays on "karachi city of problems", popular posts.

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Essay on Problems of Karachi pdf Download

Essay on Problems of Karachi

Introduction:

Karachi, the economic and cultural hub of Pakistan, is a city of contrasts. Despite its immense potential and economic significance, Karachi grapples with a myriad of problems that hinder its progress and development. This essay explores some of the pressing issues that continue to plague this megacity, impacting the lives of its residents and hindering its overall growth.

• Infrastructure and Urban Planning: Karachi’s rapid population growth has strained its infrastructure and overwhelmed urban planning. The city lacks adequate public transportation, leading to traffic congestion and prolonged commutes. Poorly designed road networks and insufficient public spaces contribute to the overall chaos. The need for a comprehensive urban planning overhaul is evident to address these challenges.
• Water Crisis: Karachi faces a severe water crisis due to a combination of factors, including outdated water supply systems, leakages, and illegal water connections. The growing population and unchecked urbanization exacerbate the problem, leaving a significant portion of the city without access to clean and potable water. Sustainable water management strategies are crucial to alleviate this crisis.
• Garbage and Environmental Pollution: The issue of waste management is a growing concern in Karachi. Improper disposal of garbage, inadequate waste collection services, and the absence of recycling facilities contribute to environmental pollution. The polluted air and water pose serious health risks to the residents, demanding urgent attention to establish effective waste management practices.
• Security and Law Enforcement: Karachi has faced challenges related to law and order for years, with incidents of crime, violence, and terrorism affecting the daily lives of its citizens. While efforts have been made to improve security, a comprehensive and sustained approach is needed to address the root causes of criminal activities and ensure the safety of the population.
• Economic Disparities: Economic disparities are evident in Karachi, with stark contrasts between affluent and impoverished areas. Unequal distribution of resources, limited access to education, and a lack of employment opportunities contribute to social and economic divides. In order to foster sustainable development, it is essential to address these disparities and promote inclusive growth.
• Educational Challenges: Despite being a major economic center, Karachi faces challenges in providing quality education to its population. Limited access to schools, especially in underprivileged areas, and issues like teacher shortages and outdated curricula hinder educational development. Investing in education infrastructure and reforming the education system are critical steps towards a brighter future for Karachi’s youth.
• Political Instability: Political instability and governance issues have also impacted Karachi. Frequent changes in local administrations and political interference in administrative matters have impeded progress. A stable and transparent political environment is essential for effective governance and addressing the city’s challenges.

Conclusion:

Karachi’s problems are complex and interconnected, requiring a holistic approach to find sustainable solutions. Addressing the city’s challenges demands collaborative efforts from the government, civil society, and the residents themselves. By investing in infrastructure, improving governance, and fostering social and economic inclusivity, Karachi can overcome its problems and emerge as a thriving metropolis that realizes its full potential. The path to transformation requires a commitment to change and a shared vision for a better, more prosperous Karachi.

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Why bangladesh keeps on sheltering myanmar’s army and bgps, the politics of implausible deniability, getting ready for the imf, not talking to anyone, who was killed in fresno, pha initiates work on maiden ‘public sculpture garden’ at nasser bagh, centenarians and an sho’s powers, man behind viral dress that broke internet admits he strangled wife, israel pushes back into northern gaza, ups military pressure on rafah, britain’s fm rejects rafah offensive without plan to save lives, second night of auroras seen amid ‘extreme’ solar storm, aphc urges un, other world hr bodies to play role for…, t20 world cup: usa may give tough time to pakistan: ramiz…, pcb chairman urges pak squad to embrace modern t20i techniques to…, japan beat pakistan in closely contested sultan azlan shah cup final, amir won’t play first t20i against ireland despite joining team in…, pakistan and ireland set to clash in debut t20i series today, crop residue burning causes health problems in cities of punjab.

Despite the strict restrictions on the burning of crop residue across Punjab, the illegal and dangerous activity continues unabated.

Inhabitants of areas nearby where crops are being burned are now complaining of health problems. Residents of Hafizabad, where an incident of crop burning was witnessed, complained of difficulty breathing and itching in their eyes.

Others complained of respiratory problems such as sore throats and coughing due to the toxic smoke that crop burning produces.

Provincial authorities have begun the enforcement of arrests and legal cases against individuals engaged in the dangerous practice of crop residue burning, following orders from Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

In line with this enforcement, two people caught burning crop residues near the motorway in the Hafizabad area have been detained, with formal charges filed against them. Their actions led to a motorway accident due to the smoke, which necessitated these legal measures, according to a press release issued on Thursday.

Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb reported that the government’s legal steps were influenced by recent survey results. She highlighted that the provincial government had directed administrative and police forces to adopt a strict no-tolerance policy against crop residue burning upon learning of related incidents.

Assistant Commissioners and local officials throughout the province have been charged with ensuring the cessation of this practice.

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Teens come up with trigonometry proof for Pythagorean Theorem, a problem that stumped math world for centuries

By Bill Whitaker

May 5, 2024 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News

As the school year ends, many students will be only too happy to see math classes in their rearview mirrors. It may seem to some of us non-mathematicians that geometry and trigonometry were created by the Greeks as a form of torture, so imagine our amazement when we heard two high school seniors had proved a mathematical puzzle that was thought to be impossible for 2,000 years. 

We met Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson at their all-girls Catholic high school in New Orleans. We expected to find two mathematical prodigies.

Instead, we found at St. Mary's Academy , all students are told their possibilities are boundless.

Come Mardi Gras season, New Orleans is alive with colorful parades, replete with floats, and beads, and high school marching bands.

In a city where uniqueness is celebrated, St. Mary's stands out – with young African American women playing trombones and tubas, twirling batons and dancing - doing it all, which defines St. Mary's, students told us.

Junior Christina Blazio says the school instills in them they have the ability to accomplish anything. 

Christina Blazio: That is kinda a standard here. So we aim very high - like, our aim is excellence for all students. 

The private Catholic elementary and high school sits behind the Sisters of the Holy Family Convent in New Orleans East. The academy was started by an African American nun for young Black women just after the Civil War. The church still supports the school with the help of alumni.

In December 2022, seniors Ne'Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson were working on a school-wide math contest that came with a cash prize.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: I was motivated because there was a monetary incentive.

Calcea Johnson: 'Cause I was like, "$500 is a lot of money. So I-- I would like to at least try."

Both were staring down the thorny bonus question.

Bill Whitaker: So tell me, what was this bonus question?

Calcea Johnson: It was to create a new proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. And it kind of gave you a few guidelines on how would you start a proof.

The seniors were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem, a fundamental principle of geometry. You may remember it from high school: a² + b² = c². In plain English, when you know the length of two sides of a right triangle, you can figure out the length of the third.

Both had studied geometry and some trigonometry, and both told us math was not easy. What no one told  them  was there had been more than 300 documented proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem using algebra and geometry, but for 2,000 years a proof using trigonometry was thought to be impossible, … and that was the bonus question facing them.

Bill Whitaker: When you looked at the question did you think, "Boy, this is hard"?

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Yeah. 

Bill Whitaker: What motivated you to say, "Well, I'm going to try this"?

Calcea Johnson: I think I was like, "I started something. I need to finish it." 

Bill Whitaker: So you just kept on going.

Calcea Johnson: Yeah.

For two months that winter, they spent almost all their free time working on the proof.

CeCe Johnson: She was like, "Mom, this is a little bit too much."

CeCe and Cal Johnson are Calcea's parents.

CeCe Johnson:   So then I started looking at what she really was doing. And it was pages and pages and pages of, like, over 20 or 30 pages for this one problem.

Cal Johnson: Yeah, the garbage can was full of papers, which she would, you know, work out the problems and-- if that didn't work she would ball it up, throw it in the trash. 

Bill Whitaker: Did you look at the problem? 

Neliska Jackson is Ne'Kiya's mother.

Neliska Jackson: Personally I did not. 'Cause most of the time I don't understand what she's doing (laughter).

Michelle Blouin Williams: What if we did this, what if I write this? Does this help? ax² plus ….

Their math teacher, Michelle Blouin Williams, initiated the math contest.

Bill Whitaker: And did you think anyone would solve it?

Michelle Blouin Williams: Well, I wasn't necessarily looking for a solve. So, no, I didn't—

Bill Whitaker: What were you looking for?

Michelle Blouin Williams: I was just looking for some ingenuity, you know—

Calcea and Ne'Kiya delivered on that! They tried to explain their groundbreaking work to 60 Minutes. Calcea's proof is appropriately titled the Waffle Cone.

Calcea Johnson: So to start the proof, we start with just a regular right triangle where the angle in the corner is 90°. And the two angles are alpha and beta.

Bill Whitaker: Uh-huh

Calcea Johnson: So then what we do next is we draw a second congruent, which means they're equal in size. But then we start creating similar but smaller right triangles going in a pattern like this. And then it continues for infinity. And eventually it creates this larger waffle cone shape.

Calcea Johnson: Am I going a little too—

Bill Whitaker: You've been beyond me since the beginning. (laughter) 

Bill Whitaker: So how did you figure out the proof?

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Okay. So you have a right triangle, 90° angle, alpha and beta.

Bill Whitaker: Then what did you do?

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Okay, I have a right triangle inside of the circle. And I have a perpendicular bisector at OP to divide the triangle to make that small right triangle. And that's basically what I used for the proof. That's the proof.

Bill Whitaker: That's what I call amazing.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Well, thank you.

There had been one other documented proof of the theorem using trigonometry by mathematician Jason Zimba in 2009 – one in 2,000 years. Now it seems Ne'Kiya and Calcea have joined perhaps the most exclusive club in mathematics. 

Bill Whitaker: So you both independently came up with proof that only used trigonometry.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Yes.

Bill Whitaker: So are you math geniuses?

Calcea Johnson: I think that's a stretch. 

Bill Whitaker: If not genius, you're really smart at math.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Not at all. (laugh) 

To document Calcea and Ne'Kiya's work, math teachers at St. Mary's submitted their proofs to an American Mathematical Society conference in Atlanta in March 2023.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Well, our teacher approached us and was like, "Hey, you might be able to actually present this," I was like, "Are you joking?" But she wasn't. So we went. I got up there. We presented and it went well, and it blew up.

Bill Whitaker: It blew up.

Calcea Johnson: Yeah. 

Ne'Kiya Jackson: It blew up.

Bill Whitaker: Yeah. What was the blowup like?

Calcea Johnson: Insane, unexpected, crazy, honestly.

It took millenia to prove, but just a minute for word of their accomplishment to go around the world. They got a write-up in South Korea and a shout-out from former first lady Michelle Obama, a commendation from the governor and keys to the city of New Orleans. 

Bill Whitaker: Why do you think so many people found what you did to be so impressive?

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Probably because we're African American, one. And we're also women. So I think-- oh, and our age. Of course our ages probably played a big part.

Bill Whitaker: So you think people were surprised that young African American women, could do such a thing?

Calcea Johnson: Yeah, definitely.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: I'd like to actually be celebrated for what it is. Like, it's a great mathematical achievement.

Achievement, that's a word you hear often around St. Mary's academy. Calcea and Ne'Kiya follow a long line of barrier-breaking graduates. 

The late queen of Creole cooking, Leah Chase , was an alum. so was the first African-American female New Orleans police chief, Michelle Woodfork …

And judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Dana Douglas. Math teacher Michelle Blouin Williams told us Calcea and Ne'Kiya are typical St. Mary's students.  

Bill Whitaker: They're not unicorns.

Michelle Blouin Williams: Oh, no no. If they are unicorns, then every single lady that has matriculated through this school is a beautiful, Black unicorn.

Pamela Rogers: You're good?

Pamela Rogers, St. Mary's president and interim principal, told us the students hear that message from the moment they walk in the door.

Pamela Rogers: We believe all students can succeed, all students can learn. It does not matter the environment that you live in. 

Bill Whitaker: So when word went out that two of your students had solved this almost impossible math problem, were they universally applauded?

Pamela Rogers: In this community, they were greatly applauded. Across the country, there were many naysayers.

Bill Whitaker: What were they saying?

Pamela Rogers: They were saying, "Oh, they could not have done it. African Americans don't have the brains to do it." Of course, we sheltered our girls from that. But we absolutely did not expect it to come in the volume that it came.  

Bill Whitaker: And after such a wonderful achievement.

Pamela Rogers: People-- have a vision of who can be successful. And-- to some people, it is not always an African American female. And to us, it's always an African American female.

Gloria Ladson-Billings: What we know is when teachers lay out some expectations that say, "You can do this," kids will work as hard as they can to do it.

Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, has studied how best to teach African American students. She told us an encouraging teacher can change a life.

Bill Whitaker: And what's the difference, say, between having a teacher like that and a whole school dedicated to the excellence of these students?

Gloria Ladson-Billings: So a whole school is almost like being in Heaven. 

Bill Whitaker: What do you mean by that?

Gloria Ladson-Billings: Many of our young people have their ceilings lowered, that somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, their thoughts are, "I'm not going to be anything special." What I think is probably happening at St. Mary's is young women come in as, perhaps, ninth graders and are told, "Here's what we expect to happen. And here's how we're going to help you get there."

At St. Mary's, half the students get scholarships, subsidized by fundraising to defray the $8,000 a year tuition. Here, there's no test to get in, but expectations are high and rules are strict: no cellphones, modest skirts, hair must be its natural color.

Students Rayah Siddiq, Summer Forde, Carissa Washington, Tatum Williams and Christina Blazio told us they appreciate the rules and rigor.

Rayah Siddiq: Especially the standards that they set for us. They're very high. And I don't think that's ever going to change.

Bill Whitaker: So is there a heart, a philosophy, an essence to St. Mary's?

Summer Forde: The sisterhood—

Carissa Washington: Sisterhood.

Tatum Williams: Sisterhood.

Bill Whitaker: The sisterhood?

Voices: Yes.

Bill Whitaker: And you don't mean the nuns. You mean-- (laughter)

Christina Blazio: I mean, yeah. The community—

Bill Whitaker: So when you're here, there's just no question that you're going to go on to college.

Rayah Siddiq: College is all they talk about. (laughter) 

Pamela Rogers: … and Arizona State University (Cheering)

Principal Rogers announces to her 615 students the colleges where every senior has been accepted.

Bill Whitaker: So for 17 years, you've had a 100% graduation rate—

Pamela Rogers: Yes.

Bill Whitaker: --and a 100% college acceptance rate?

Pamela Rogers: That's correct.

Last year when Ne'Kiya and Calcea graduated, all their classmates went to college and got scholarships. Ne'Kiya got a full ride to the pharmacy school at Xavier University in New Orleans. Calcea, the class valedictorian, is studying environmental engineering at Louisiana State University.

Bill Whitaker: So wait a minute. Neither one of you is going to pursue a career in math?

Both: No. (laugh)

Calcea Johnson: I may take up a minor in math. But I don't want that to be my job job.

Ne'Kiya Jackson: Yeah. People might expect too much out of me if (laugh) I become a mathematician. (laugh)

But math is not completely in their rear-view mirrors. This spring they submitted their high school proofs for final peer review and publication … and are still working on further proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. Since their first two …

Calcea Johnson: We found five. And then we found a general format that could potentially produce at least five additional proofs.

Bill Whitaker: And you're not math geniuses?

Bill Whitaker: I'm not buying it. (laughs)

Produced by Sara Kuzmarov. Associate producer, Mariah B. Campbell. Edited by Daniel J. Glucksman.

Bill Whitaker is an award-winning journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent who has covered major news stories, domestically and across the globe, for more than four decades with CBS News.

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Thomas L. Friedman

Why the Campus Protests Are So Troubling

By Thomas L. Friedman

Opinion Columnist

Readers have been asking me, and I have been asking myself of late, how I feel about the campus demonstrations to stop the war in Gaza. Anyone reading this column since Oct. 7 knows that my focus has been on events on the ground in the Middle East, but this phenomenon has become too big to ignore. In short: I find the whole thing very troubling, because the dominant messages from the loudest voices and many placards reject important truths about how this latest Gaza war started and what will be required to bring it to a fair and sustainable conclusion.

My problem is not that the protests in general are “antisemitic” — I would not use that word to describe them, and indeed, I am deeply uncomfortable as a Jew with how the charge of antisemitism is thrown about on the Israel-Palestine issue. My problem is that I am a hardheaded pragmatist who lived in Beirut and Jerusalem, cares about people on all sides and knows one thing above all from my decades in the region: The only just and workable solution to this issue is two nation-states for two indigenous peoples.

If you are for that, whatever your religion, nationality or politics, you’re part of the solution. If you are not for that, you’re part of the problem.

And from everything I have read and watched, too many of these protests have become part of the problem — for three key reasons.

First, they are virtually all about stopping Israel’s shameful behavior in killing so many Palestinian civilians in its pursuit of Hamas fighters, while giving a free pass to Hamas’s shameful breaking of the cease-fire that existed on Oct. 7. On that morning, Hamas launched an invasion in which it murdered Israeli parents in front of their children, children in front of their parents — documenting it on GoPro cameras — raped Israeli women and kidnapped or killed everyone they could get their hands on, from little kids to sick grandparents.

Again, you can be — and should be — appalled at Israel’s response: bombing everything in its path in Gaza so disproportionately that thousands of children have been killed, maimed and orphaned . But if you refuse to acknowledge what Hamas did to trigger this — not to justify what Israel has done, but to explain how the Jewish state could inflict so much suffering on Palestinian men, women and children in reverse — you’re just another partisan throwing another partisan log on the fire. By giving Hamas a pass, the protests have put the onus on Israel to such a degree that its very existence is a target for some students, while Hamas’s murderous behavior is passed off as a praiseworthy adventure in decolonization .

Second, when people chant slogans like “liberate Palestine” and “from the river to the sea,” they are essentially calling for the erasure of the state of Israel, not a two-state solution. They are arguing that the Jewish people have no right to self-determination or self-defense. I don’t believe that about Jews, and I don’t believe that about Palestinians. I believe in a two-state solution in which Israel, in return for security guarantees, withdraws from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Arab areas of East Jerusalem, and a demilitarized Palestinian state that accepts the principle of two states for two peoples is established in those territories occupied in 1967.

I believe in that so strongly that the thing I am most proud of in my 45-year career is my interview in February 2002 with the Saudi crown prince, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, in which he, for the first time, called on the entire Arab League to offer full peace and normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal to the 1967 lines — a call that led the Arab League to hold a peace conference the next month, on March 27 and 28, in Beirut to do just that. It was called the Arab Peace Initiative .

And do you know what Hamas’s response was to that first pan-Arab peace initiative for a two-state solution? I’ll let CNN tell you . Here’s its report from Israel on the evening of March 27, 2002, right after the Arab League peace summit opened:

NETANYA, Israel — A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people and injured 172 at a popular seaside hotel Wednesday, the start of the Jewish religious holiday of Passover. At least 48 of the injured were described as “severely wounded.” The bombing occurred in a crowded dining room at the Park Hotel, a coastal resort, during the traditional meal marking the start of Passover. … The Palestinian group Hamas, an Islamic fundamentalist group labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yes, that was Hamas’s response to the Arab peace initiative of two nation-states for two peoples: blowing up a Passover Seder in Israel.

Hey, Friedman, but what about all the violence that Israeli settlers perpetrated against Palestinians and how Bibi Netanyahu deliberately built up Hamas and undermined the Palestinian Authority, which embraced Oslo?

Answer: That violence and those Netanyahu actions are awful and harmful to a two-state solution as well. That is why I am intensely both anti-Hamas and anti-Netanyahu. And if you oppose just one and not also the other, you should reflect a little more on what you are shouting at your protest or your anti-protest. Because no one has done more to harm the prospects of a two-state solution than the codependent Hamas and Netanyahu factions.

Hamas is not against the post-1967 occupation. It is against the existence of a Jewish state and believes there should be an Islamic state between the river and the sea. When protests on college campuses ignore that, they are part of the problem. Just as much as Israel supporters who ignore the fact that the far-right members in Netanyahu’s own coalition government are for a Jewish state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. How do I know? Because Netanyahu wrote it into the coalition agreemen t between himself and his far-right partners.

The third reason that these protests have become part of the problem is that they ignore the view of many Palestinians in Gaza who detest Hamas’s autocracy. These Palestinians are enraged by precisely what these student demonstrations ignore: Hamas launched this war without permission from the Gazan population and without preparation for Gazans to protect themselves when Hamas knew that a brutal Israeli response would follow. In fact, a Hamas official said at the start of the war that its tunnels were for only its fighters, not civilians.

That is not to excuse Israel in the least for its excesses, but, again, it is also not to give Hamas a pass for inviting them.

My view: Hamas was ready to sacrifice thousands of Gazan civilians to win the support of the next global generation on TikTok. And it worked. But one reason it worked was a lack of critical thinking by too many in that generation — the result of a campus culture that has become way too much about what to think and not how to think.

I highly recommend a few different articles about how angry Gazans are at Hamas for starting this war without any goal in mind other than the fruitless task of trying to destroy Israel so Hamas’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, could get his personal revenge.

I was particularly struck by a piece in The National, a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian American raised in Gaza. The headline is: “Israel’s War Has Killed 31 Members of My Family, Yet It’s Vital to Speak Out Against Hamas.” Alkhatib placed Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in the context of the rising protests against its inept and autocrat rule that have broken out periodically in Gaza since 2019, under the banner of “We Want to Live.”

Wrote Alkhatib, a political analyst who is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council: “Having grown up in Gaza, I experienced Hamas’s rise to power and their gradual grip over the Strip and Palestinian politics and society, hiding behind a resistance narrative and using extremist politics to sabotage prospects for a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israel. Months before Oct. 7, tens of thousands of Gazans protested in the streets in defiance of Hamas, just as they had in 2019 and 2017.”

Alkhatib added that the “‘We Want to Live’ protest movement decried living conditions and unemployment in Gaza, as well as the lack of a political horizon for meaningful change in the territory’s realities and opportunities. Hamas’s regime consisted of a criminal and despotic enterprise that used Gaza as a haven for the group’s members and affiliates and turned Palestinians there into aid-dependent subjects reliant on the international community” and turned Gaza into “a ‘resistance citadel’ that was part of a nefarious regional alliance with Iran.”

A campus with critical thinkers might have had a teach-in on the central lawn on that subject, not just on the violence of Israeli settlers.

Against this backdrop, we are seeing college presidents at places like Rutgers and Northwestern agree to some of the demands by students to end their protests. As NPR summarized them, the “demands vary by school, though they generally call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, disclosures of institutional investments and divestment from companies with ties to Israel or that otherwise profit from its military operation in Gaza.”

What Palestinians and Israelis need most now are not performative gestures of disinvestment but real gestures of impactful investment, not the threat of a deeper war in Rafah but a way to build more partners for peace. Invest in groups that promote Arab-Jewish understanding, like the Abraham Initiatives or the New Israel Fund. Invest in management skills capacity-building for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, like the wonderful Education for Employment network or Anera, that will help a new generation to take over the Palestinian Authority and build strong, noncorrupt institutions to run a Palestinian state.

This is not a time for exclusionary thinking. It is a time for complexity thinking and pragmatic thinking: How do we get to two nation-states for two indigenous peoples? If you want to make a difference and not just make a point, stand for that, work for that, reject anyone who rejects it and give a hug to anyone who embraces it.

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Thomas L. Friedman is the foreign affairs Opinion columnist. He joined the paper in 1981 and has won three Pulitzer Prizes. He is the author of seven books, including “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” which won the National Book Award. @ tomfriedman • Facebook