Planned growth
PAKISTAN is rapidly urbanising, yet its cities are mostly growing in a haphazard fashion, without the requisite planning to make them liveable and sustainable. And while input from experts is essential, no less important is the feedback of the public — who are the greatest stakeholders — on what shape cities should be taking. In this regard, the recent environmental impact assessment hearing on the Lahore Division Master Plan-2050 — a key document concerning this major urban area — was apparently stage-managed, and was mostly attended by Lahore Development Authority employees and a few members of the public. Sources within the administration told this paper that the exercise, a legal necessity, was carried out in a ‘controlled’ fashion, apparently to rubber-stamp the plan’s approval. As per the official version, all key areas were covered by the master plan.
Considering that the new Lahore master plan will set the direction for the city’s growth for decades to come, surely there must be complete transparency and citizen input to make the plan a success. Bulldozing through the legal requirements will defeat the purpose of creating an inclusive plan. While Lahore has fared comparatively better than Karachi where urban planning is concerned, major issues remain in the Punjab capital, which is impacted by urban sprawl, pollution, traffic congestion, etc. Let Karachi serve as a cautionary tale; when cities are planned in a disorderly fashion, or even worse, the authorities fail to fulfil their responsibilities and allow various mafias to devour urban spaces, they turn into violent, unliveable concrete jungles just like the Sindh capital. The Punjab government needs to get maximum public input before signing off on the Lahore master plan, and should alleviate the genuine concerns experts may have about lacunae in the plan. Only those cities develop in a progressive fashion that put the common citizen at the centre of their priorities, and ensure that people live, work and play in safe, inclusive environments. That should be the goal urban planners across Pakistan should be pursuing.
Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2022
Glorious World Cup
LIONEL Messi was already a legend when he played his second World Cup at the age of 22. Sporting immortality, though, would only come to him at his fifth and last World Cup at the ripe old age of 35, when he would finally lift the ultimate prize football has to offer. Qatar’s World Cup had been tarnished by controversy off the pitch, but in Messi fulfilling his lifelong ambition of leading Argentina to glory, it had its perfect finish. Even in the moment he’d waited so long for, one which took so much out of him, when Messi lifted the trophy, he was garbed in the traditional robe Arabs wear during ceremonies. Ahead of the final, Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary general of the World Cup organising committee, had spoken about the final celebrations being representative of the Arab culture and tradition and they certainly were. Qatar had been under the microscope for many issues since it won the bid to host the World Cup in 2010. The successful, trouble- and incident-free hosting of the tournament, along with its fitting climax, meant Qatar could finally exhale now. Never before had such a small country hosted football’s biggest tournament, never again will it happen. True to its sporting ambition, Qatar has delivered the most compact World Cup possible.
The football that took place helped too. Saudi Arabia would have been boosted after the final by knowing they were the only side to beat Argentina at the World Cup. An incredible end to the group stage provided compelling drama and it is hoped FIFA keeps up the four-team groups for the next edition of the World Cup, which will be expanded to 48 teams from 32. Argentina may have won it all but Morocco were the story of the tournament, their barnstorming run to the semi-finals captivating the imagination of the Arab, African and the Muslim world, showing that football still is the great leveller. France and the force that is Kylian Mbappé ended Morocco’s dream but their ambitions of becoming the first repeat champions since Brazil in 1962 were dashed. Mbappé showed his sensational talent in the final, getting a hat trick, but it wasn’t enough to stop an Argentina side that rallied around Messi for this tournament. Mbappé, though, is the game’s next big superstar. Already a World Cup winner, he will have more chances to add to his tally in the future.
Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2022
Ghosts of the past
CONTROVERSY continues to drag the former army chief, retired Gen Qamar Bajwa, back into the headlines, this time due to conflicting statements made over the weekend by Imran Khan and his PML-Q ally, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.
During a televised address to his supporters on Saturday night, Mr Khan had unloaded his anger on the former army chief, blaming him wholesale for the PTI’s unceremonious ouster in April and for his ‘corrupt’ opponents getting ‘NRO-2’.
A day later, the CM launched into an impassioned defence of Gen Bajwa during a TV interview, describing him as both his and the PTI’s greatest mohsin (benefactor). There was such conviction in his indignation that he roundly admonished the PTI chief for keeping him by his side as the latter tainted the former general’s legacy. Mr Elahi also reproached the PTI chief for ‘forgetting’ all the ‘services’ rendered to his party by the retired army chief, including ushering it into power.
Chaudhry Parvez Elahi felt no abashment as he described his ‘relationship’ with the armed forces as “long-lasting and never broken under any circumstances”. Nor did he pay any mind to optics as he recounted that Gen Bajwa had met the Saudi king and crown prince for assistance, visited Qatar for investments in Pakistan, and apparently even coordinated with the IMF to ‘support’ Mr Khan’s government. Apparently, he does not care that the former chief overstepped his constitutional bounds in each of these instances.
His defence of Gen Bajwa also brought back into the limelight a poorly kept secret — that the PTI’s rise was orchestrated by the establishment, which had been quite keen to dislodge Nawaz Sharif from the political mainstream. Their ‘partnership’ was not to last, and the same establishment eventually turned on Mr Khan when it realised the experiment was not working like it was hoped to despite its best efforts.
While Mr Khan’s renewed criticism of the former army chief is to be expected as he rebuilds his political narrative, it is Parvez Elahi’s fawning admiration of Gen Bajwa that threatens to snatch away the thin veneer of ‘neutrality’ the latter tried to cover his institution with on his way out.
It may be recalled that just a day before Mr Khan’s Saturday address, the CM had rushed off for a furtive meeting with an “important personality” in Rawalpindi. He has since stated that he “explained the pros and cons of dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies” to the establishment in that meeting.
Did he do so out of compulsion due to his “long-lasting” and “unbroken” service as the establishment’s acolyte, or was he summoned by power brokers restless to get back in the game?
The dust has barely settled on Gen Bajwa’s tenure, and the temptations already seem to have returned. How long will the new regime be able to resist them?
Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2022