Wardah Farooq Khiyani

The most crucial challenge for developing countries like Pakistan, is to emerge from the
suffocating web of socio-economic problems such as inter ethnic conflicts, rocketing
inflation, poverty, income inequality and the likes of  them. Such unsolved issues keep them
glued to the stage in which they can barely fulfill the pre requisites of moving towards
development. They stay badly submerged in the pool of economic complications because all
these problems in themselves play the role of both a cause and effect, forming a never
ending vicious circle, further complicating the already malfunctioning economic system. 
One such problem that Pakistan is currently facing is the rural-urban migration, causing
rapid urbanisation. According to the census of 1998, urban areas accounted for nearly 66
per cent of all immigrants in Pakistan. Urban areas of the districts of Karachi, Lahore and
Rawalpindi accounted for more than 33 per cent of these. The urban areas of Karachi alone
accounted for around 13 per cent of all immigrants. This migration from labor abundant
rural areas to urban centers accounts for two thirds of all the internal migration taking place
in Pakistan and is clearly linked to the prevalent poverty in those areas. The increased
activity in the urban labor market, 30 per cent less poverty and significant difference in the
nominal wage rate of the urban and rural areas, provide adequate incentive to the poor
rural population to undertake migration.
According to the 1998 Population Census, most migrants undertake migration for family
related reasons. The most popular of which are 'moving with the head of the house hold'
and marriage. Initially, migration is taken as a temporary setup by the migrants to
overcome problems such as paying off debts. This however, soon turns to a permanent
solution to their problems, and soon whole families migrate to the urban areas.
Where, on one hand this migration seems like an escape from the problems of the migrants,
giving them opportunities of economic growth and mobilisation, on the other hand, it is
increasing the burden on the dwindling economy of the country.  Since the resources of the
urban centers such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, which are the main
destinations of these migrants, are being divided over an increasing population, the supply
of general public services is barely meeting their demand. This increasing gap between the
demand and supply of public services gives rise to many problems such as the emergence
of slums, shortage of resources such as water and electricity, inadequacy of public transport
and increasing crime rate along with social costs such as inter ethnic conflicts and
imbalances.
Since most of the planning regarding infra structure, housing and other public services in
urban areas has always been reactive instead of anticipatory, it has given rise to many
problems, most pressing of which is the rise of squatter settlements or 'katchi abadies'.
Moreover, in Karachi, where population rises at 6 per cent per annum, urban services
expand by only 1.2 per cent because of which government and development authorities
cannot provide residents with basic services. Housing is in critically short supply where the
government is able to meet only about one-eighth of total annual demand of housing in the
city. Due to the distribution of resources over a larger population, people are facing acute
power and water shortages. Transportation sectors of the urban areas are also not being
able to cope with the increasing demand of public transport.
This phenomenon of rural-urban migration can also be held as a cause of the growing,
rather stressful problem in urban areas, which is that of increasing violence and crime. This
link can be explained by the fact that the increasing internal migration in the country is
outdoing the capacity of the private and public sectors of urban areas to absorb further man
power. In turn, the expectations of the migrants of having an improved standard of living
are not being met, instilling in them a sense of relative deprivation and frustration, thus
giving rise to violent and aggressive behavior. Furthermore, as migrants have to get
accustomed to the new urban life both, socially and psychologically by giving up their past
living habits, they often get indulged in identity crisis. This increases their vulnerability of
joining political or religious extremist groups. Rural-urban migration cannot be considered
as the sole reason for the increasing street crime such as mobile snatching and organised
crime such as trafficking in narcotics and arms, but a part of this increasing crime can
certainly be attributed to this factor.
Today, around 35 per cent of Pakistan's population lives in urban areas. This ratio is higher
than that in most developing countries. Where, on one hand it would be harsh to blame
these poor rural immigrants for increasing economic problems and becoming a burden on
the already striving economy of the urban sectors in an attempt to alleviate their own crisis,
it cannot be ignored however, that the increasing rural-urban migration is certainly leading
to a defected urban economy. 
It is about time, some corrective policy measures be taken by the new government of the
country regarding the increasing internal migration, and to relieve the rural folk from their
grievances by providing them with adequate economic opportunities and by focusing or
rural development programs for a change!