Articles of the year 2020

Starting as a fishing village, it remained a sleepy town and till 1947 its only claim to fame was that it had birthed Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Jinnah went on to become the founding father of Pakistan, in a cataclysmic manner, in which 29 million lives were lost in the upheaval.

The city became the capital of the newly born country and flourished mainly due to the sacrificial zeal of the new arrivals.

These individuals had dreamed of a new beginning, away from the powerful Hindus who dominated the business and power circles, bolstered by the British masters who chose the educated savvy Hindu to administer the huge unmanageable country.

Karachi as a capital, in the commercial and industrial hub, had a close working relationship between the industrial moguls and the executive powers.

This did well for Karachi and in turn the country. However Ayub Khan, the then President thought otherwise, and made the decision to shift the capital to Islamabad.
This was a huge mistake, as it moved the business centre away from the government.
This further isolated the executive and removed it from the closeness of business and industry.

This was important in as much as, this liaison is vital to keeping both industry and the executive performing well. Without this liaison the executive could take decisions, which could harm industry, unfortunately this happened many times over.

Additionally, changing the capital was unwise, as the distance from the capital made it difficult for the small and medium industries to have a voice, in the decisions that would affect all commercial activity. Business and industry have a huge stake in a country, to the mutual benefit of both. Without one the other is doomed. Communism and socialism have proved this.
However, all of the above were rendered academic by the disastrous attempts at democracy.