“Privatize Karachi Like PIA, We Will Run It Better,” Says Tabish Hashmi After Gul Plaza Tragedy
Karachi: Renowned Pakistani host and comedian Tabish Hashmi has strongly criticized the authorities in the wake of the Gul Plaza tragedy, suggesting that the government should privatize Karachi just as it did Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), claiming the city’s residents could manage it more effectively.
Speaking on a private television program, Tabish Hashmi said that if the government believes it cannot run Karachi properly, it should consider privatizing the city. “The people living here — Pashtuns, Baloch, Sindhis, Mohajirs and Punjabis — can collectively buy Karachi and run it far better,” he remarked.
Recalling his personal connection with the city, Hashmi said his childhood was spent in Karachi, from school to the University of Karachi and later through various jobs. He added that even after becoming a father, he used to visit Gul Plaza for shopping. “There is hardly a household in Karachi that does not have something bought from Gul Plaza,” he said.
Hashmi lamented that the associations and institutions that once defined Karachi are disappearing one by one. He said people urged him to make videos on the Gul Plaza incident, but questioned why such basic governance failures still need to be pointed out to the government. “If building issues are being discussed today, whose responsibility was it? Across the world, this is the job of local governments,” he said.
Commenting on the Sindh chief minister’s press conference, Hashmi said merely accepting responsibility in words is not enough. “Action must follow accountability. This is not the first tragedy in Karachi; dozens of such incidents have occurred before and continue to happen,” he added.
He questioned the practical meaning of accountability, asking whether the chief minister had lost his position or faced any financial penalty. “Even the compensation paid to victims does not come from their own pockets,” he remarked.
Referring to the Karachi mayor, Hashmi said that while he accepts responsibility, he often shifts blame to other factors. “In many countries, when repeated incidents occur under a person’s watch, they resign. Unfortunately, this does not happen in Pakistan,” he said.
Hashmi also criticized the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), stating that the party holds 15 National Assembly seats and around 75 provincial assembly seats from Karachi. “Even if we assume the public doubts their mandate, do they themselves doubt it? Why are they not coming out and asserting their representation?” he questioned.
Reiterating his stance, Hashmi said that just as the government realized it could not run PIA and moved toward privatization, it should do the same with Karachi. “All communities living in Karachi can come together and buy the city. I am confident we can run it much better, because we certainly cannot run it worse than it is being run now,” he concluded.
