OUR misrule occurs largely in villages — away from the public view. But Karachi advertises it globally. Despite its significant water, transport, crime, sewage and other woes, most of its districts rank among our best given their edge in health, literacy and income — even though many Karachiites lack these. Cities that lay golden eggs need funds to lay them, without depriving poor regions. Karachi’s visible mess and near-bottom rank on the Economist’s 2025 city rankings, where its closest Asian peers — Delhi, Jakarta, Manila and Mumbai — rank much higher, and only Dhaka ranks lower — suggests it doesn’t get enough.

Its woes cut GDP growth — and must end not just for Karachi’s sake but the entire country’s. Rough estimates put its GDP share close to that of Balochistan, KP and the rest of Sindh combined. While Karachi’s federal tax receipts share is reported as 50-55 per cent, this figure is inflated on account of port duties and firms with national revenues — its actual share is closer to 25-30pc. But its real edge is even less as such data discounts the natural wealth, informal economy and cheap labour of poor regions. The large shares of Karachi and Punjab in our GDP reflect policy inequities too. Higher taxes on them........

© Dawn