PKR 4.5 billion in taxes, no fire safety: The crisis facing Karachi’s markets

Every month, Karachi’s shopkeepers pay taxes meant to keep the city running and its markets safe.

Through electricity bills alone, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) collects PKR 750 per shop, adding up to nearly PKR 4.5 billion every year from around 500,000 shopkeepers.

But when fire tore through Gul Plaza, one of Karachi’s most well-known markets, at least 14 people lost their lives, nearly 1,000 shops were destroyed, and firefighters reportedly ran out of water.

This video asks a simple question: where is the money going?