Karachi has seen four climate marches in recent years that reportedly drew a thousand or more participants each, with organisers now escalating claims to five thousand attendees. In a city of twenty million officially declared residents, gathering even five thousand amounts to little more than a drop in the ocean. If the climate movement in Pakistan's largest metropolis cannot fill a neighborhood park, it is time to ask whether the problem lies with an apathetic public or with messengers who have failed to inspire them. The numbers do not lie, and neither should the organisers. The question is necessary.

The standard excuse from civil society organisers is now entirely predictable. They blame public unawareness, anxieties over law and order, chronic joblessness, and the perpetual power crisis for poor turnout. These are real challenges, but they are also convenient shields behind which organizers hide their own failures. Awareness theories have long established a humbling truth: if you cannot create a pathway to convince people, the failure rests on your own shoulders. You either cannot communicate, influence, or earn followers. Karachi's climate activists, especially its self-appointed leaders, seem to struggle most with the third factor. This is not a minor shortcoming. It is the fatal flaw that keeps their marches small and their impact smaller.

My own interactions with this tight circle support this observation in........

© The Express Tribune