THE debate about a separate province for Karachi had now started to head in different directions. On Dec 10, 1969, this newspaper published a report which mentioned that as talks between Karachi and Sindh leaders continued on the burning topic, a new offer came for merging Karachi with the province of Balochistan. Some of the old Baloch leaders had privately communicated the offer to the All Pakistan Muhajir Board and the newly-formed Karachi Status Citizens Committee. The initiators of the move indicated that together with Karachi they would be able to progress quickly. And the RCD Highway linked the city with Balochistan via Lasbela. Furthermore, an early development of the coastal line stretching from Gwadar to Jiwani could form a formidable port complex adding to the area’s revenues. While Balochistan would financially and educationally benefit from the merger, Karachi would get additional lands for its future industrial development.

On Dec 14, a meeting of prominent citizens and representatives of various political parties adopted a resolution demanding the merger of Karachi with Sindh. It strongly felt that Karachi had been an integral part of Sindh and any attempt to separate it from Sindh would retard the general progress, national growth and economic development of the region. The resolution read: “The people of Karachi have had enough experience of past bureaucratic rule which denied the right of self-government and any semblance of autonomy during the period it was centrally-administered. Therefore, the people are determined to resist any conspiracy hatched from any quarters for again depriving Karachi of the right of self-government and autonomy.” It appealed to all patriotic elements to rally round and forge unity to maintain the historical, geographical, political and cultural unity of Sindh. The meeting was attended, among others, by Ghiasuddin Ahmad, Mohsin Siddiqui, Mahmoodul Haque Usmani, Mohammad Yawar, Ziaul Islam, Abdus Sami Khan, Sharaf Faridi, Syed Nasirudidn, Jamil Ahmad, Sirjaul Haque Usmani, Ghaffar Pasha, A. G. Mirza, Ismail Burhani, Najmudidn Valika, Ziaullah, Khalid Jamil, J. H. Shirazi, Syed Abid Ali, Iqtida Ali Hashmi, Abdul Khaliq, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Mahmood Ahmad and Syed Khalilur Rahman.

These debates were happening in a festive season. On Dec 11, Eidul Fitr was celebrated in the city amidst scenes of great enthusiasm and festivity. Almost all the big parks, recreation grounds and other places of entertainment were jam-packed with people. At Clifton, where an Eid mela was held every year, big crowds were seen. There, young and old came together in joyful celebrations. Another big place of recreation and entertainment was the Zoological Garden. Groups of men and boys were seen dancing with joy on the beat of the dholak and tin tara. The Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum attracted a big number of people as well.

By the way, the day before Eid, about 250 workers of Hotel Metropole went on strike. The Karachi Hotel Workers Union blamed the management of the hotel for not enforcing the law for minimum wages. The workers, including bearers and kitchen staff, left work at 7am. The second shift, too, in the afternoon did not report on duty. Apparently, the workers had not drawn their salary for three months under protest since the management was not willing to pay the minimum wages.

All this while, the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) grabbed the media’s attention for two reasons. First, on Dec 8, the chairman of the corporation, Abrar Hasan Khan, urged its assessment and collection department to speed up the recovery of taxes. Secondly, on Dec 14, it was announced that the maintenance and upkeep of the Jahangir Kothari pier at Clifton was now the responsibility of the KMC. Due to an old dispute between the KMC and the Karachi Development Authority on the matter, repair and renovation of the building were pending for quite some time because of which the condition of the structure was fast deteriorating.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2019