The obsessive desire of Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to reshape the provincial capital Lahore according to his own restrictive image of a “world class city” threatens to rob Lahore of the very culture, greenery and vibrancy that make it one of Pakistan’s most important cities. The mega transport projects pursued single-mindedly by the CM betray a lack of reverence for the city’s history, landscapes and its “organic living heritage”, i.e. the people who have lived here for generations and have structured their entire lives and livelihoods around their surroundings. While no one disputes that Lahore and other big cities of Pakistan urgently need an overhaul of the public transport system so that those without the luxury of personal vehicles can be safely and cheaply mobile, blindly trying to mimic a bustling metropolis like Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai or Dubai without considerations for the local realities is highly ill-advised and ruinous for the city and its inhabitants.
The worst aspects of this form of short-sighted urban development are evident in the controversies surrounding the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train (OMT). For months now, the protests conducted by concerned members of civil society about the impact the OMT will have on the cultural and ecological systems of Lahore have been ignored and misrepresented by the Punjab government. But now the UN is stepping in and has asked the government to halt construction of the OMT. In a joint statement released by two UN experts on right to adequate housing and on cultural rights, concerns expressed are similar to those of civil society. It is stated that the project threatens an already vulnerable segment of the population and will in fact create homelessness on a large scale as residents are forced to vacate their homes on short notice without any plans for resettlement. In addition, the project threatens many historical sites and minority places of worship, thereby disproportionately harming another vulnerable segment of society. The UN Special Rapporteurs are also deeply alarmed by the staggering lack of transparency around the project and the frequent changes in the planned route well after the project was approved in a public hearing. They also observe that much more viable alternatives were available (e.g. an underground system), which would have saved a lot of people from being displaced and would have had a minimal cultural and environmental cost. The only possible conclusion as to why better options were not utilised is because then the OMT would be not be ostentatiously visible to the public as an impressive pet project of the CM. The experience of successfully constructing the similarly contentious Metro Bus project emboldens the Punjab government to carry on and the likelihood of judicial redress is an open question. But it is hoped the weight carried by the words of the UN forces the government to reconsider and these destructive practices can be halted.
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