The writer is a Karachi-based academic and researcher. INSTEAD of a ‘politics of control’, the residents of Karachi desire a ‘politics of performance’. This approach is nowhere in sight. The city is managed along tightly contested administrative boundaries. A key component in this respect is development jurisdiction. To consolidate and promote urban development, the Karachi Development Authority was formed in 1957. Its jurisdiction extended to all of Karachi minus the federally controlled locations. In 1993, the Sindh government carved out the Malir and Lyari development authorities to ‘effectively serve’ the needs of underdeveloped areas in these locations. The core purpose of separating LDA and MDA was to exercise control over the vast land reserves that existed in these two territories and determine the land supply regime for them.