The recent death of a three-year-old boy in an open manhole has been cited by a senior political figure as a stark example of “criminal negligence” by municipal authorities, highlighting what he described as a city on the brink of collapse due to widespread governance failures.
Faheem Khan, Senior Vice President of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Karachi Division and a former MNA, today voiced grave concerns over what he termed the city”s worsening civic and administrative crises, attributing the situation to provincial mismanagement and prolonged neglect.
Speaking about the death of the toddler, Ibrahim, near NIPA, Khan called for a murder case to be registered against the officials responsible, arguing their failure to maintain basic safety standards led to the preventable loss of innocent lives.
The PTI leader asserted that the city”s sewage and drainage infrastructure has “completely collapsed,” with uncovered manholes presenting a constant danger to citizens. He stated that over two dozen fatalities have been recorded this year from falls into open drains, exposing a “total breakdown of municipal governance.”
Khan highlighted an acute water crisis, with residents often going days without supply. He claimed that malfunctioning pumping stations and extensive power cuts have paralyzed the water distribution system, leaving citizens dependent on an “exploitative tanker mafia” while government oversight is absent.
He also warned of an alarming rise in street crime, which has left residents feeling insecure and businesses vulnerable. According to Khan, incidents of robbery and theft have become commonplace, with law enforcement appearing “completely ineffective” and the Sindh government failing to implement a viable security strategy.
The deteriorating public health situation was another key concern, with Khan pointing to a sharp increase in dengue cases as evidence of the healthcare system”s fragility. He described overcrowded hospitals, insufficient bed capacity, and a lack of essential medicines as signs of the administration”s “utter failure” to control the outbreak, which he said was exacerbated by unsanitary conditions city-wide.
Finally, Khan criticized the escalating energy shortages, noting that persistent gas and electricity outages have crippled Karachi’s industrial sector. He explained that these power failures also disrupt the water supply by shutting down pumping stations, compounding the city”s problems. “Karachi is the economic backbone of Pakistan,” he remarked, “and neglecting this city is equivalent to undermining the national economy.”