Gul Plaza fire

DEATH TRAPS

Published in Dawn on January 23, 2026

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THE recent fire at Gul Plaza proves that most buildings in Karachi remain death traps, and that nothing would be done to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future. Of course, there are people in the government whose duty it is to ensure that buildings are constructed with adequate safety precautions and have at least two emergency exits. There must be those who are required to visit such buildings periodically and ensure that fire prevention SOPs are being observed.

And we can be sure that, on paper at least, such officials have reported that all places they have inspected are safe, just as there are factory inspectors who never visit factories because they are paid to stay away and generate all-good reports.

That said, can everything be blamed on the government? What about the shop-keepers themselves? It has been many years since I last went to Gul Plaza, and I saw that many shopkeepers had kept their goods in the passages leading to the exits. This would have made it very difficult for their customers to quickly get out of the building in an emergency.

As for fire prevention measures, it is simply out of the question. Purchasing fire extinguishers and recharging them every six months is both time consuming and cumbersome. And, in any case, why waste one’s money on frivolous things like fire prevention measures? Right?

Of course, if relevant inspectors had regularly visited the building and imposed fines on errant shopkeepers, this tragedy could have been avoided. But, then, such officials have only one thing in mind: how to speedily recover the money they have paid to get transferred to Karachi, and how to become millionaires in a couple of years. Absolutely tragic.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1968588/death-traps

It's almost imposssible to enforce the minimum marriage age law

The Peoples Party deserves praise for trying to protect women in the country. It has passed the minimum marriage age bill for girls, requiring them to be married only after the age of eighteen. The only problem is that it's virtually impossible to ensure that this law is observed. One reason for this is that people in the rural areas of the country do not register the births of their children. But the main reason is that people believe that Islam requires that girls should be married as soon as they reach puberty (which most do at the age of twelve).

I once heard a judge say that he has no choice but to allow marriage of underage girls as that is the law of Sharia, even if the country's law prohibits the marriage of girls who are not yet eighteen. Naturally, if an educated man has this opinion, what can a layman say?

There is another reason: the sale of female children by men who don't earn enough to survive or buy narcotics. A maid servant once decided to go to the court for getting a divorce from her husband. the man came with ten others, demanding that his three female children should be handed over to him. He didn't want his wife back. It turned out that he'd already sold the girls and wanted to get the money from the buyers so he could continue buying drugs. In such a scenario, it's impossible to protect Pakistani girls. 

Exchanging Punjab CM (Mariam Nawaz) for Sindh CM (Murad Ali Shah)

Half-joking

Published in The News on February 3, 2025

This letter refers to the news report ‘Atiq Mir calls Sindh-Punjab CMs swap remark a ‘joke’’ (January 28, 2025). Even though the trader has backed down after the fierce reaction of the PPP, most of the residents of Karachi are not satisfied with the provincial government’s performance and would love to have someone like the Punjab chief minister in charge of Sindh.

From the dilapidated condition of our roads to the bribes paid to policemen, as well as surviving without water for days, we are living in a city that never ceases to place obstacles in its people’s lives. And all this despite paying the lion’s share of the taxes collected by the provincial government.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1278897-half-joking

5 July 1977: the day Bhutto was removed

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I was young at the time (35), but like almost every Pakistani I was overjoyed when Zia toppled Bhutto (and hanged him later). I have written elsewhere about how much Bhutto damaged Pakistan (https://tribune.com.pk/article/33546/we-will-never-forget-nor-ever-forgive-you-mr-bhutto). Indeed, I still believe that he was responsible for the break-up of the country, by damaging what remained of Pakistan by nationalizing industries and dividing the country by using the Sindh card.

But in hindsight, I believe that he should not have been executed. I still think he ordered many people to be killed, but then, as pointed out by many people at the time, even American presidents had done so. As I grew older, I gradually came to oppose the death penalty, which is why hanging Bhutto was the biggest mistake Zia made. If Bhutto had been freed, he would have won the next elections and hanged Zia (as he'd threatened to do). But of course, Zia could have saved himself by leaving the country, even though it's doubtful if Bhutto would have carried out his threat. 

By killing Bhutto, Zia made the PPP more popular, which lead to Benazir and Zardari getting elected, and the country suffering because of their corruption.

Bilawal Zardari Bhutto could be the next prime minister

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With the denial of the "bat" symbol to PTI, it's almost certain that support of independents (mostly PTI candidates) will be crucial for the party forming the next government. Even though most people are convinced that Nawaz Sharif will manage to become the next prime minister, I believe Bilawal Bhutto is more likely to form the next government.

The Establishment (army) knows that Nawaz Sharif is not the malleable type. He will definitely try to avenge his ouster and rigging of the 2018 elections to get Imran Khan elected. Bilawal has never been subjected to that kind of treatment so far. 

Another reason is that the independents (PTI candidates) will demand a heavy payment to support whoever gets to form the next government. They have each reportedly paid a princely amount (Rs. 40 million) to Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan to get party tickets. At the moment, it looks like only PPP (Bilawal's party) has that kind of money, unless PTI is somehow restored and the candidates go back to their parent party.

Since everyone knows that our politicians are helpless and can do only what the army tells them to do, I don't see why I should waste precious petrol and time on driving to the polling booth to vote. I didn't get to vote the last time as I was in the UK. In 2013 I had to drive sixteen kilometers to vote. I'm not going to make the same mistake again.

Stoning of Bilawal!

When promises become lies

Published in The News on July 3, 2018

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PPP Chairman Bilawal Zardari’s convoy was pelted with stones by residents who were protesting against the lack of water and basic facilities in the area. Typically, the PPP dismissed the protests as attempts by rival parties to thwart its influence.

However, Bilawal should reflect deeply on what exactly his party has done for Lyari (and Sindh, for that matter). Ten years of constant misrule by the PPP has proved that we shouldn’t be surprised if the party is shown the door in the forthcoming elections.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/336564-when-promises-become-lies

“Corruption is our right”: Have you not looted Sindh enough already, PPP?

Published in The Express Tribune Blogs on July 6, 2017

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Really, the scale of corruption in Sindh is mind-boggling.

Ask any schoolboy in Pakistan which political party is the most corrupt and he will reply at once, “Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).”

Even before a Swiss court convicted the former president and his wife Benazir Bhutto of money laundering, the leaders of this party have been known to be highly corrupt. It was not for nothing that former President Asif Ali Zardari was known as Mr 10%.

So it was highly ironical to see PPP stalwarts such as Aitzaz Ahsan in Parliament demanding accountability of Nawaz Sharif. Either he forgot the rampant corruption in his own party or deliberately chose to ignore it. Mr Ahsan, how can we ever forget your party’s Prime Minister Raja Ashraf’s corruption in the rental power case?

And surely you remember that payment of Ayyan Ali’s air ticket was made from the same bank account as that of Bilwal Bhutto Zardari’s? Have you never wondered how an ordinary low-paid Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) meter reader (Syed Khurshid Shah) became so wealthy?

So why should we be surprised that the shameless PPP majority party in the Sindh Assembly passed the bill to repeal the applicability of the National Accountability Ordinance, preventing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from taking action against corruption by its ministers?

After all, it was a PPP stalwart (Abdul Qayyum Jatoi) who said, “Corruption is our right!” What he really meant, of course, was, “Corruption is our religion!”

https://youtu.be/OEQZ_iZs3NQ

While tabling the bill, Sindh Law Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar said,

“The Sindh government will introduce a new anti-corruption law in 30 days… to eliminate corruption from the province.”

If the recent past is any guide, the Sindh government will probably appoint someone like Superintendent of Police (SP) Fida Hussain Shah (who is himself facing corruption charges) to investigate corruption in the province.

And we should not forget the strong resistance put up by the Sindh government towards the appointment of Inspector General of Police (IGP) AD Khawaja. You cannot appoint your party activists as policemen as long as you have an honest officer heading the police department, can you, Mr Murad Ali Shah? Nor can you have ghost teachers in ghost schools if NAB is constantly looking over your shoulder.

Really, the scale of corruption in Sindh is mind-boggling. From sale of parks in Karachi to mismanagement of water purification plants in Thar, there is looting and plundering everywhere.

Gangsters like Uzair Baloch have been freely used to further the agenda of Sindh’s rulers, while a little known Sindh government employee (Sharjeel Memon) became a billionaire within three years.

Even though property prices have shot up numerous times and the common man can no longer afford to buy a house, the Sindh government charges taxes and stamp duties at the old prices (which are only 2% of the actual values). Government employees in the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the land department take huge bribes from builders as well.

So, by making NAB ineffective in the province, the Sindh government wants to ensure that the loot and plunder of Karachi continues. It doesn’t want to be held accountable for the garbage on the streets of Karachi, nor does it want anyone to prevent the sale of amenity parks at throwaway prices to builders.

So I wasn’t surprised at all to see a glum and despondent Shah in the apex committee meeting with the army chief, which was held to impress upon him the need for, amongst other things, improvements in the functioning of the police department and to appoint police officers on merit.

I know that he was upset because he had never thought that there would be resistance from any quarter to his ministers’ aims to further enrich themselves, nor to his power to appoint unqualified louts in the provincial police department. He thought that by exempting Sindh from NAB, people like Memon, Dr Asim Hussain, and former SBCA Director General Manzoor Qadir Kaka would now be immune from prosecution.

Well, he is wrong, as he will soon find out when the proposed law is struck down by the courts.

Get real, Mr Shah, the people who voted for your party are not ignorant. They can see that there has been no development at all in Sindh, when compared to the other provinces. They know that your party has failed them.

You still have about a year to do something for the people of your province, Mr Shah. Stop thinking of protecting the corrupt, start accountability, get rid of those who are bent upon making themselves rich. Otherwise it will be too late, and the people will come out on the streets to remove your party from power, as they did in the times of Ayub Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

By

Shakir Lakhani

Engineer, former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, industrialist, associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years. Loves writing, and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced. He tweets @shakirlakhani (https://twitter.com/shakirlakhani)

https://tribune.com.pk/article/52693/corruption-is-our-right-have-you-not-looted-sindh-enough-already-ppp

No, Ms Bakhtawar Zardari, a simple apology will not do

Published in The Express Tribune blogs on January 23, 2017

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After the harassment of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Nusrat Sehr Abbasi in the hallowed precincts of the Sindh assembly, Ms Bakhtawar Zardari has asked her party’s parliamentarian, Imdad Pitafi to apologise to the female lawmaker for his lewd remarks about her.

Yes must apologise absolutely unacceptable behaviour & totally against ethos of our party that has been led by the strongest of women

  #PPP https://t.co/3BZAlvC4c6

Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) January 21, 2017

We condemn vulgar and ill language of MPA #ImdadPitafi and #TaimoorTalpur against #NusratSeharAbbasi Sahiba pic.twitter.com/YM44PhTLHL

— Sangri (@Sangrisaeed) January 20, 2017

Likewise #Jiyalas&Pak nation urges PPPChairman @BBhuttoZardari 2tke notice of #ImdadPitafi who usd derogatry wrds agnst #NusratSeharAbbasi 

https://t.co/XELTED57vc

— AakaSh Punhani (@AAKASHPUNHANI) January 21, 2017

This is the kind of empowerment we need.#NusratSeharAbbasi #Stopharassment

— Isbah Rais (@IsbahRais) January 21, 2017

No, Ms Bakhtawar Zardari, a simple apology, or notice from PPP, will not do. For too long now, your party’s parliamentarians have considered themselves above the law. We, the citizens of Karachi, have often escaped death by inches when members of your party and their sons break all traffic rules and drive recklessly on weekend nights. It’s time for them to realise that they should not be let off easily every time they break the law.

When lawmaker Imdad Pitafi contemptuously referred to fellow parliamentarian Nusrat Abbasi as “Madam Queen” and sneeringly asked her to come to his chamber, he was confident that no action would be taken against him. He is, after all, a member of the party which has done everything but provide good governance to the people of Sindh. He has seen that those who pilfer public funds and loot the treasury are able to get themselves elected again and again.

So, Ms Bakhtawar, please remember that what Mr Pitafi has done is something that comes naturally to him and his kind. It’s time to make such people realise that women are human beings and not slaves to be treated like animals. How would you have reacted if he had made such remarks about you or your sister Asifa? The action you take in this matter should be such that no male lawmaker would ever dare to harass another woman again.

And this can be done only when the errant parliamentarian Mr Imdad Pitafi is made to resign from the assembly and never allowed to contest elections on the Pakistan People’s Party ticket again. We are waiting Ms Bakhtawar, please be tough just this one time, we want our women to be respected and to be able to live without being considered as inferior beings with no rights of their own. Please expel Mr Pitafi from your party immediately.

This will send a clear message to others in your party not to think of themselves as being above the law. Now is the time for you to do what needs to be done, so do it, Ms Bakhtawar Zardari!

Shakir Lakhani

Engineer, former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, industrialist, associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years. Loves writing, and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced. He tweets @shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)

https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/45364/no-ms-bakhtawar-zardari-a-simple-apology-will-not-do/

Regular tax amnesty schemes

According to a news item, Rana Sikandar-e-Azam Khan (President, FPCCI) has suggested that the government should announce repeated amnesty schemes to whiten black money . This shameless suggestion reminded me of what was said by PPP MPA Abdul Qayyum Jatoi: "Corruption is our right". If amnesty schemes become a regular feature, will it not encourage tax evasion and corruption? What about the salaried class, who pay taxes honestly? Why should they be discriminated against? In fact, why not abolish income tax completely? At least this will result in the government saving much needed revenue, which would otherwise be paid to income tax collectors.

PPP and the police: Sindh corruption

Corrupt Sindh

Published in The News on July 16, 2014

This refers to the editorial, ‘The police and the PPP’ (July 14). There was a time when it was commonly believed that only about ten percent of budget money was pilfered and siphoned away into foreign bank accounts. This is still true of Punjab, where it is apparent that the government has done a lot to improve the lot of the common man. But in Sindh, no progress is seen, which makes one believe that a sizeable percentage of the budget money is pocketed by those in power. The sacking of honest police officers every now and then because they do not support corrupt deals is enough to prove that the Sindh government is concerned only with looting the people.

One fears that the equipment being bought from the Serbians will be useless and ultimately sold as junk (this kind of thing has happened in the past). The situation will never change because the vast majority in Sindh will always vote for the PPP.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Qadri & government's incompetence

Government’s incompetence

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Published in Daily Times on June 27, 2014

Sir: The present government has done the unthinkable: it has proved that it is much more incompetent than the previous government. Who would have thought that people like me would yearn for the days when the PPP was in charge? The PML-N’s incompetence in handling the wild-eyed Qadri has done just that. I cannot understand why this government blundered in allowing the Canadian cleric to take full advantage of the situation. Is the government composed of nincompoops only? Couldn’t the prime minister foresee what would happen if the plane was diverted to Lahore? I shudder to think how this government would respond if a major crisis like an invasion of the country took place.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Thar tragedy-PPP has not learnt any lessons

Lesson not learnt

Published in DAWN on March 17, 2014

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WITH reference to your editorial ‘Thar’s plight’ (March 8), it seems that the PPP has not learnt any lessons from its recent defeat in the national elections. It has been ruling over Sindh for the past six years, yet the rural population, most of whom voted for it, is still living in the Stone Age. The annual budget of the province is Rs600bn, yet the condition of hospitals in rural areas is pathetic.

And to add salt to our wounds, rulers and their kin were singing and dancing during the Sindh Festival while hundreds of poor babies were dying not very far away.

Not surprisingly, the tiny amount of aid that was sent to the affected families did not reach them, mainly because close relatives of ministers have been put in charge throughout the province. It seems the PPP’s motto is ‘The poor be damned as long as we can make merry’.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Thar: all is not lost-yet

Published in The News on March 15, 2014

This refers to Kamila Hayat’s article, ‘Life after death’ (March 13). While it’s true that the PPP is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of children in Tharparkar, all is not lost. All that the party leaders have to do is sell some of their properties abroad and set up a couple of large desalination plants in Thar.

This will solve most of the problems faced by the people of the area and even if there are droughts every year, they will have enough water for agriculture and domestic consumption. But the question is, do our leaders have the will and vision to serve the poor masses?

Shakir Lakhani

Zardari's "pir" couldn't help him!

A pir and his statements

Published in Daily Times on June 8, 2013

A pir (spiritual leader) has surfaced, claiming that he is the one who ensured that Mr Zardari would complete five years as president and that the PPP would form the government in Sindh. If what he says is true, it would appear that Mr Zardari asked him only to ensure that he would complete his five years as president and for the PPP to form the next government in Sindh. I may be wrong but this does not sound like Mr Zardari. I believe that Mr Zardari not only wanted to have five more years as president but also for his party to sweep both national and provincial elections. The pir (Muhammad Ejaz) must think we are all morons (like his followers) when he says, “He would now do something so that the president could stay in office for two more years.” Why two years? Why not another five years? Finally, by saying that “Nawaz Sharif will face no danger if he keeps doing the right things”, does he mean that he should be Nawaz’s pir as well? Seeing that the PML-N did so well in the recent elections, I would say that Nawaz Sharif’s pir (if he has one) did much better than Muhammad Ejaz.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Raja Rental's amazing sacrifice!

Surprise, surprise

Published in The News on March 24, 2013

This is with reference to the news item ‘Ashraf selects squads for his lifetime security’ (March 22). I’m amazed at the big sacrifice Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is making. He has allocated only 300 million rupees every year for his security for the remainder of his life. I’m surprised he didn’t allocate ten times this amount, because as everyone should know by now, Pakistan is one of the richest countries on the planet, thanks to five years of PPP (mis)rule.

There are 180 million Pakistanis, and each will have to contribute less than two rupees annually for this. Surely they won’t mind paying ten times more, considering that there is no poverty in Pakistan and everyone who lives in this country has more than he or she needs. In fact, I think half the country’s future budgets should be spent like this. This is the only way we can show our appreciation for their performance during the past five years. And if anyone says that they have ruined the country, he or she should be locked up in a mental asylum.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

PPP's promises!

PPP manifesto

Published in The Express Tribune on March 20, 2013

The PPP manifesto released recently promises the moon for the common man (including a minimum wage of Rs18,000). Based on the party’s past five years’ performance, one can confidently predict that if elected again, it will ensure that the dollar will soon be worth Rs300 and the prices of all essential commodities will increase five-fold.

Roti, kapra and makaan will then be elusive dreams for the common man and he will need much more than Rs18,000 to survive.

Shakir Lakhani

https://tribune.com.pk/story/523230/ppp-manifesto/

Shameless PPP politicians!

Small mercies

Published in The News on March 20, 2013

This is with reference to Ghazi Salahuddin’s article ‘Democracy, with tears’ (March 17). The writer is dismayed by the shameless allotment of various perks and privileges voted by the outgoing PPP Sindh Assembly members for themselves. Among these are substantial increases in salaries and perks with retrospective effect (from July 1, 2011), plus 70 percent salary and allowances per month, one private secretary, one orderly, one cook, one gardener and one sanitary worker for the rest of their lives.

In addition they also get lifetime police security, landline and mobile phone facility up to Rs10,000 per month. In any other country, there would have been an uproar, but not in ours. I suppose we should be grateful that they did not allow themselves more perks like five murders every year, one duty-free SUV every two years and one new bungalow every five years as long as they’re alive.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Rehman Malik's perjury

Identity crisis 

Published in The News on June 5, 2012 

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This is with reference to your editorial ‘Identity crisis’ (June 3). PPP leaders have never bothered about little things like lying in courts. Rehman Malik had to be pardoned by the president to remain in government. Now you can bet that he will be pardoned again if convicted of perjury.

Again, no Pakistani minister or politician has ever resigned for even major lapses (like plane crashes, railway accidents, Haj scams and rental power frauds). It is not in the nature of Pakistanis to even talk of resigning when caught lying or looting.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Another increase in minimum wage!

Minimum wage

Published in The News on May 04, 2012

The prime minister (Gilani) recently announced an increase of Rs 1,000 in the minimum wage of workers. The media should investigate as to how much the peasants who till the prime minister’s lands are paid.

The prime minister has no problem in announcing an increase in the minimum wage every year because he knows he and his fellow ministers will not be affected, as no farm worker would dare to ask for an increased pay – that is if he is being paid anything at all, which is highly unlikely.

SHAKIR LAKHANI,

KARACHI

Pakistan's rampant inflation in PPP rule

Fuelling inflation

Published in The News on April 4, 2012

This is with reference to your editorial ‘Fuelling inflation’ (April 2). In every PPP government prices of almost everything increase exponentially, the rupee declines in value against other currencies, and the rulers always ignore the problems of the common man.

Things will get even worse if the present government continues printing notes. It won’t be long before the ministers start quarrelling among themselves when they find that there is no money in the national kitty.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi