Who owns Karachi? By Bina Shah

Bina Shah Asks: All this got me thinking about the question: who owns Karachi? Is it the people? Is it the mafia? Is it the army? Is it the members of one ethnic group or another? The original inhabitants of the province? Immigrants of the old guard from India, or the new wave from the NWFP or Afghanistan? Is it the much-maligned ‘foreign hand’? Do I own Karachi? Do you?

Who owns NYC? Who owns Lahore? Who owns Tehran?

One answer could be this: Those who have a stake in Karachi are the owners. And who could they be? Those who are born in Karachi, who live, work and die in this city, and above all who through their taxes and efforts, however minimal, contribute to enhance the lives of their fellow citizens.