Karachi: “Midway between its tranquil past and bustling future”
April 14, 1950. The New York Times, on the choice of Karachi as the capital of Pakistan:
“… So Karachi was projected into unexpected fame. It still is midway between its tranquil past and bustling future. Housing is short in the extreme. Thousands of refugee craftsmen do their weaving and spinning beside shacks that not even a “Hooverville” tramp in the days of the American depression would inhabit.
There are far more bicycles, rickshaws and rubber-tired carts drawn by ambling camels with tinkling bells around their knees than automobiles. Buzzards wheel overheard mournfully searching platforms where the Parsees, most of whom have gone to Bombay, used to expose their dead.
Minor birds and crows chatter among bougainvillea and hibiscus flowers in the prosperous residential area. Sindis in long white coats, Baluchis with turbans and fierce brown-faced Punjabi officials from the north wander through the baking streets past temporary hutments where most Government offices still are installed.
[...]
But despite squabbles with India over their joint heritage, the festering Kashmir quarrel, suspicions of Afghanistan, commercial and financial disputes with New Delhi and a budget rendered totally lopsided by budget requirements. Pakistan has made remarkable progress and like the mushroom city of Karachi, exudes confidence.”
