Urban displacement and grassroots activism in Karachi

Polis Project Conversation Series

In this episode, Francesca Recchia is in conversation with Fatima Zaidi, a journalist, activist and member of the Karachi Bachao Tehreek. Karachi Bachao Tehreek is a grassroots coalition of lawyers and activists who are concerned about the sustainability of the development projects in the city. They work in collaboration with community leaders in the working class localities that bear the brunt of this so-called development. In this conversation, Zaidi details the timeline of urban violence and disenfranchisement taking place in the city, how the resistance movement came about and what are their demands. Even as the State enacts explorative capitalist policies, Zaidi expresses hope in the future of a people's movement.