Desperate Artists of Heera Mandi

After having dinner at Lahore’s famous Food Street behind Badshahi Mosque last March, we were sitting at a roadside teahouse in the food street, waiting for the tea. The place was very fascinating for the Karachiites as it is designed in such a way that it depicts the history, culture and art of the old city area of Lahore. For most of us, it was really giving a look of Shahi Muhalla as Putli Tamasha (traditional puppet show) was being performed on one side, monkey and goat wala was showing performance of animals on another side and groups of singers were singing at yet another corner.

We saw the singer, who was earlier entertained the guests at the famous Haveli restaurant where we had a sumptuous dinner. My colleague Naghma knew the singer and waved him to join us over a cup of tea. He reluctantly came to sit with us.

She introduced her to the place many years back when she had visited for a research study on the red-light area, which was still not converted into a food street, but was famous for its colourful balconies and dancing girls and was considered one of the top red-light areas in Pakistan. Famous as Shahi Mohallah, or Heera Mandi, the place used to be lit with bounties every night and Haveli-like buildings’ balconies resonated with the loud sounds of music and dance. He nodded his head as he was recalling that research study.  

 

The first question was: “Where have those dancers and musicians in the red light area gone?” With a flabbergasted look on his face, the artist said that they have left the area by selling all their properties, which the billionaire restaurant owners have bought. Most of the dancing girls are now living in the posh localities of the city or have left the country, he said. The musicians and male singers, however, have joined private music bands and groups. Some of the leading restaurants on Food Street have also hired singers to entertain the guests, he added.

“But if we want to see them dancing, then where should we go?”, asked one of our colleagues a direct question. “You can hold a music party at your private place, they will come,” he replied. People invite the dancing girls and musicians to their wedding-like parties, he added.

“Why they were removed from this place as this red light area was a historic place for performing art for centuries?” we volleyed another question.

During the last government of Nawaz Sharif, they were asked to leave as people of the area and religious leaders had pressurized the government to remove them. Moreover, the government had planned to convert this area of Fort Road into a tourist place under the Walled City project. Thus, this place was converted into a Food Street and the dancers and musicians were asked to leave, he replied.

“Are the people now satisfied as the dancers and musicians have left the area,” we put another question to him.  “To some extent,” he said adding that people of the area have suffered heavy economic losses as many shopkeepers were selling flowers, garlands, Paan, foods and decoration things during the nighttime.

“Are you earning enough from singing at the restaurants?” we asked. Not that much, but many singers and artists are now jobless. Only a few are engaged by restaurants, he said.

Although we had many other questions, he left us by saying that he had to go to the job.

In the name of Blasphemy

The horrifying incident of the burning of a Sri Lankan citizen, apparently belonging to the Buddhist faith, working in a factory in Sialkot, Punjab province has sent a shockwave and anger among Pakistani citizens as the victim was killed in the name of protecting the name of Islam or its Prophet (PBUH).

As reported in the mainstream and social media, the cold-blooded incident occurred at a factory located at Wazirabad Road in Sialkot city which is famous for exporting sports goods, where Sunni Muslim workers of the factory attacked the export manager of the factory and killed him inside the factory and later burnt his body.

Priyantha Kumara, 50, a Sri Lankan national has been working in a sports garments factory for the last 6 years and a local police spokesman stated that the incident started with a protest demonstration outside the factory in which a large number of protesters alleged that the Sri Lankan citizens had torn a religious poster and thrown it in the dustbin, which was termed as blasphemy by the workers of the factory.

Later, on instigation by some protesters, the mob entered the factory premises and killed Kumara. They dragged the body outside the factory premises and burned the dead in presence of police, which has arrived to control the protest.

The spokesman of Punjab Police told Independent Urdu that the crowd was huge and police personnel were in small numbers, so they failed to protect the body to be burnt.

Police said it is further investigating the incident. People have dispersed and the burnt body has been shifted to the hospital.

The gory incident of burning a foreign has received condemnations from the country and abroad. Human rights organisations including Amnesty International have condemned the incident.

My friend, my mentor: Muhammad Ali Shah

The coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic has snatched many valuable persons all over the world, but for me, the death of my friend, mentor and leader of Pakistan’s fishermen Muhammad Ali Shah was a great loss to the vulnerable communities of the country.

I remember when the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers had unleashed atrocities on fishermen of Badin during the Military rule of General (R) Pervaiz Musharraf (1999-2008), Muhammad Ali Shah along with his deceased wife Tahira Shah stood steadfast with the fishing communities and launched a strong movement against the powerful paramilitary forces. Due to their leadership and mobilization of the fishermen by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum in 2004 Pakistan Rangers had to leave the control of waters in the Badin district, which they had been illegally occupying since the 1970s. They were not allowing the bonafide fishermen to do fishing on lakes and along the Arabian sea coast in Badin district and only those fishermen were allowed to do fishing, who used to pay the contractor, appointed by them.

As a result of the relentless struggle led by Mr and Mrs Muhammad Ali Shah the Sindh government, at last, ended the contract system for fishing all over the province. The provincial government also made laws to introduce fishing licensing systems and also banned the use of destructive nets. It was for the first time that the most backward community (fishermen) of Sindh got a voice for their usurped rights.

The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) got famous all over the world because of the perpetuated struggle of the Shah couple. Muhammad Ali Shah remained an undisputed leader of the fishermen of Sindh (both marine fishermen and inland fishermen) and always remained at the forefront of the rights of fishermen. He faced the wrath of the authorities when he challenged their illegal actions. I remember the DHA authorities had stopped fishermen of Gizri from fishing at Sea View and they blocked the entry by erecting barricades. Muhammad Ali Shah dialogued with the uniformed heads of DHA and as a result, Gizri’s fishermen were allowed to fish. He also fought against the encroachment of a graveyard in a fishing village by the Coast Guard.

When the Pakistan government allowed big fishing trawlers (ships) to do fishing in Pakistani waters, under the deep-sea fishing policy in the 1990s-2000s, it was Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum that came forward and waged a struggle to end the Policy.

I can recall that my friendship with Muhammad Ali Shah started in the early 1990s when he formed a social welfare organisation in Ibrahim Haidry. He was working in the office of the union council as a government employee., but he along with his colleagues at the Ibrahim Haidery Welfare Association used to raise a voice against the problems of fishermen on the Karachi coast. The first time I went to interview him in his office of Ibrahim Haidry union council as I was writing a feature on Sindh’s fishermen. Till that time PFF was not formed.

Since then we used to meet at Karachi Press Club or in Ibrahim Haidry. Our bond further strengthened when in 2005 he asked me to join PFF. I worked for his organisation for a brief period from April to August 2005. Unfortunately, during that period, he was arrested by Hyderabad police along with other PFF colleagues Muhamamd Mallah, Jamal Shoro, Saami Memon and some others when they staged a sit-in outside the office of the provincial Fisheries department. Their arrest was made under the decades-old draconian law famous as MPO (Maintenance of Public Order). The PFF aggressively launched a struggle all over Sindh by holding protest demonstrations, press conferences and issuing statements. He was later released.

Muhammad Ali Shah also tried to make PFF units in Southern Punjab and Balochistan, where a lot of fishermen are living and learning their livelihoods by fishing. He headed the World Forum of Fisher People and remained active in the labour movement of the South Asia region. He was also worried about the destruction of the Indus Delta and the construction of big dams. He launched at least two long marches or Caravans. A large number of fishermen of the Indus Delta in Thatta and Karachi have been displaced and lost their livelihoods due to the intrusion of seawater into the land.

His life became barren when in a deadly car accident in March 2015 he lost his beloved wife Tahira Shah. Both were returning to Karachi from Badin after attending a meeting there and their car turned turtle and dived into a pool of standing poisoned water along the road. Tahira Shah drowned and Muhammad Ali Shah also suffered injuries and his lungs were badly infected due to inhaling the dirty water. He remained hospitalized for many days in Thatta and Karachi after the accident.

The last time, we travelled to the Thar desert for an exposure visit of Karachi’s journalists was on February 13-14, 2021. At that time we had long discussions on the plight of vulnerable communities of Sindh. Fortunately, I stayed in the same guest house in Mithi and had a valuable chat at breakfast with him. He was a passionate leader and always worried about the miseries of fishermen and affectees of Thar power plants.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 9th (Last) Day – Ineffective follow up of SOPs

Today was the last day of the COVID-19 lockdown in Sindh province and Sunday was a closed day in Karachi.

If we review this span of lockdown, it remained ineffective as the number of positive cases in Karachi could not come down below 20 per cent. Similarly, there was a rise in cases in Hyderabad as well.

According to official statistics, 1,655 new coronavirus cases and 26 deaths were reported in Sindh during the last 24 hours on Sindh.

A chief minister’s office handout issued stated that during 24 hours, a total of 17,625 tests were conducted and the positivity rate remained at 20 per cent.

Despite the closure of markets and big departmental stores in major cities, especially in Karachi, people continued to avoid following SOPs including warning masks at public places and keeping social distancing.

As there was no ban on every type of inter and intra-city transport people could have been seen commuting by sitting closely in public transport vehicles. The biggest city of Pakistan does not have any public transport system leaves along with mass transit, so people are compelled to use Ching-chi rickshaws (which accommodate 8 persons – six on two seats at the back and two seats with the driver).

People continue to travel in these types of public transport vehicles and there was a blatant violation of SOPs in all vehicles.

This time the government kept closing down the big marts and departmental stores like Metro, Bin Hashim, Al-Jadeed etc. despite the fact in that last year’s lockdown they remained open with strict SOPs. But there was a rush at the department stores and vendors of fruits and vegetables. The medical stores, meat shops, bakeries and Tandoors remained open and people violated SOP thereby not keeping social distancing and avoiding wearing masks.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government announced on Sunday new COVID-19 standard operating procedures that will remain in effect from August 9 to Aug 31, relaxing some of the restrictions as its partial lockdown comes to an end. They include:

• Markets and businesses to function until 8pm, except essential services
• Indoor dining to remain banned. Outdoor dining (till 10pm), takeaway and delivery will be allowed
• Friday and Sunday are to be observed as closed days
• Indoor weddings will be banned; outdoor weddings will be allowed with a maximum of 300 guests until 10pm
• Shrines and cinemas to remain closed
• Indoor gyms to be allowed for vaccinated individuals only
• Offices and public transport to operate at 50 per cent capacity
• District administrations may impose broader lockdowns in specific areas based on the risk.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 8th Day – NCOC announces end of Sindh's lockdown from Monday

After a marathon session with the government, the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to end the 10-day partial “lockdown” in Sindh on Monday, August 9, 2021.

Certain restrictions and SOPs, however, will remain enacted after the culmination of the lockdown, which received severe criticism from federal government coalition partners PTI and MQM-P. Traders' bodies and industrialists also censured the provincial government on the lockdown issue.

Despite the fact there is no significant decline in COVID-19-positive cases in major cities like Karachi and Hyderabad, the provincial government was forced to take a decision in consultation with the NCOC.

At least 1,827 new coronavirus cases were reported in Sindh during the last 24 hours on Saturday with 21 deaths. A total of 15,405 tests were conducted in Sindh.

At a meeting in Karachi, the NCOC decided that the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) issued by the NCOC for the top 13 cities with high disease prevalence, including Karachi and Hyderabad, will be enforced.

Then smart Lockdowns in high disease prevalence areas will also be enforced to curtail the disease spread of COVID-19, a statement issued by NCOC said.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Administrator of KMC Barrister Murtaza Wahab inaugurated a COVID Vaccination Centre at Karachi Press Club on Saturday.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 7th Day - ADB support for vaccination

After news about the shortage of vaccines in Karachi and other parts of the country, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced the approval of a $500 million loan to help Pakistan procure coronavirus vaccines.

This amount is in addition to the funding provided by the World Bank, IMF and other donors previously.

According to Gulf News, the ADP project will support Pakistan’s national vaccination plan by helping to procure and deliver an estimated 39.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, safety boxes, and syringes.

Earlier, the World Bank said it would reallocate $150 million to Pakistan for the procurement of the vaccines.

Despite vaccine supply constraints globally, the Government of Pakistan has procured and administered more than 35 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. With a population of over r220 million, Pakistan has mainly relied on vaccines imported from China including Sinopharm, CanSino and Sinovac. Pakistan has also received around 8 million vaccine doses through the COVAX facility including AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna.

Nearly 7.2 million Pakistanis have been fully vaccinated and more than 28 million have received one dose as of August 6.

Meanwhile, it was the seventh day of lockdown in Sindh on Friday as the province reported 2,170 new cases of COVID-19. 42 more patients lost their lives due to the virus and 18,223 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, reporting a positivity rate of 11.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the federal health ministry said there is no shortage of vaccines in the country.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 6th Day – Vaccine shortage in Karachi

For the second time, the city’s vaccination centres complained shortage of vaccines on Thursday. A few weeks earlier, the country had witnessed a shortage of vaccines and a sufficient supply of Sinovac and Moderna vaccines had fulfilled the demand. But since the announcement of the lockdown in Sindh a large number of people thronged to the vaccination centres in Karachi and long queues can be witnessed outside the major vaccination centres. To meet the demand the provincial government has increased the number of round-the-clock vaccination centres and deployed mobile vaccination vans.

According to Sindh Health Department, the main vaccine brands like Sinopharm, Sinovac, and AstraZeneca are short in the city, as thousands of people have thronged at vaccination centres i the city since morning.

The shortage is reported from the largest vaccination centre at Karachi Expo Centre as well as other important centres like Dow Ojha Hospital, and Sindh Government Children’s Hospital. The supplies to vaccination centres at New Karachi, Liaquatabad, and Lyari have been suspended.

Most of the vaccination centres are not providing the first dose of Sinopharm, Sinovac, and AstraZeneca whereas only a second jab is provided whose dates are due.

Meanwhile, the provincial health department claimed that 12 mobile vaccination units have been deployed in six districts of Karachi to ensure maximum vaccination to the people. The officials believe that it may take a couple of days to receive a fresh supply of vaccines in the city.

The NCOC statistics indicated the death of 60 more people due to COVID-19 during the last 24 hours in Pakistan. In Sindh 2,315 new coronavirus cases and 28 more deaths were reported. A total of 16,9537 coronavirus tests were conducted in the province in the last 24 hours.

According to reports, the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in the second largest city of Sindh – Hyderabad.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 5th Day – Cases surge in Hyderabad

Business activities in Karachi remained suspended in Sindh except for essential items shops, like groceries and medical stores.

The war of words between Sindh’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and opposition political parties like PTI, Jamat Islami and MQM-P continued. Karachi Ameer of JI Hafiz Naimur Rahman criticised the provincial government’s decision to give powers to Police officers to impose lockdown SOPs. Earlier, those powers had vested to Assistant Commissioners or magistrates.

The federal education minister said in a press conference that federal government schools continue to run with 50 per cent attendance, whereas there will be no exams for compulsory subjects, while students would only take exams for elective subjects.  marks acquired by students in elective subjects would proportionately be given in compulsory subjects, along with an additional of 5 per cent.

Schools in Sindh will remain closed till August 8, the provincial education minister Saeed Ghani said in Karachi. The remaining intermediate exams in Sindh will take place after the coronavirus situation gets better, he stated.

According to the NCOC statistics, there is a letup in Coronavirus positive cases in two major cities – Karachi and Hyderabad. The positivity ratio in Hyderabad has touched 24 per cent, which is alarming, whereas this ratio in Karachi has hovered around 23 per cent for many days. Despite the lockdown, this positive ratio is not receding.

Rush is still being witnessed at the COVID-19 vaccination centres across the city. The provincial government has started operating mobile vaccination vans in different parts of the city.

The official figure indicated a total of 2,438 new cases emerged as 19,427 COVID-19 tests were conducted. Overall positivity of cases in the entire province remained at 12.5 per cent.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 4th Day – Sindh govt. under fire

There was no letup in the COVID-19-positive cases in Sindh as the province reported 2,438 new cases during the last 24 hours on Tuesday. 12 patients lost their lives in the province.

Despite a very loose and partial lockdown and other preventive measures, the Sindh government is still facing backlash from the federal government’s coalition partners including MQM-Pakistan and of course, the PTI minister.

The MQM-P’s leaders along with the city’s traders held a press conference in Karachi in which they, as usual, termed the lockdown as “discrimination” against Karachiites.

Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui was saying in Shahzeb Khazada’s programme on Geo News that in the Urdu-speaking dominated areas there is the strict imposition of the lockdown, whereas in posh localities like Clifton and Defence the businesses are open.

Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information at a press conference in Islamabad blamed the provincial Sindh government for the worsening Covid-19 situation in Karachi and Hyderabad. According to him the percentage of vaccinated people in these two major cities of Sindh was lower than in other major cities of the country.

However, the Sindh government brushed aside all allegations. The provincial health department announced that it has converted 12 mobile hospitals in Karachi into vaccination centres to reach citizens in various areas of the metropolis and help them get vaccinated with ease.

Two of each such mobile vaccination centres would be sent to districts South, West, East and Keamari, three to district Central and one in District Malir.

A total of 19,427 coronavirus tests were conducted in the province in the last 24 hours while 548 more people recovered from Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Sindh Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the provincial government has started vaccination of those adults who do not possess CNIC due to various reasons. A large number of Bengali and Burmese origin people live in Karachi’s Katchi Abadis and shanti towns and do not possess official documents. The minister pointed out that any document like a school certificate, B form or a personal guarantee would be acceptable for getting COVID-19 vaccination. Mobile vans would also be sent to localities where such people live in large numbers.

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 3rd Day – No Respite to Public

It seems the provincial government has further tightened the lockdown restrictions as the main departmental stores in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi remained shut down on 3rd day of the partial lockdown in Sindh.

Even one of the major cash-and-carry -cum- departmental store Metro remained closed down despite the fact it remained open during the first complete lockdown in 2020. The security guards posted outside Metro said it will remain closed till the end of the lockdown.

Only Street grocery stores, bakeries and medical stores are opened. Those medical stores, which are also selling grocery or general items have closed that section with curtains. For example, the famous Seven86 medicos at Jauhar Chowrangi is opened but it is selling only medicines. 

Due to the closure of the major stores, where a majority of people do shopping due to discounted rates, families feel frustrated in these localities.

Despite the announcement of 11 new round-the-clock vaccination centres in the metropolis, a large number of people were visiting the Expo Centre’s largest vaccination point in the city. Today the government has deployed Rangers and Army personnel to discipline the long queues at Expo Centre. According to reports, a similar rush is witnessed on other major vaccination centres including JPMC, Civil Hospital and Khalid Dina Hall in district South. Meanwhile, the traders’ bodies demanded the government to set up vaccination centres in major shopping points in the city.

The federal government-run National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) after a weekly meeting in Islamabad on Monday announced further restrictions for other cities of the country including, early closure of markets, resumption of 50 per cent work-from-home policy in government and private offices, operation of public transport with 50 per cent occupancy, two-day holidays in a week, restriction of indoor dining and marriage halls etc.

Sindh reported 1,847 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours (down from 2,549 yesterday). Moreover, 36 deaths were reported by bringing the total deaths to 6,057. In Sindh, a total of 13,107 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the province.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Hyderabad has started a survey of vaccinated people in the district to ascertain the vaccination situation.

 

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: 2nd Day - Further Relaxation

Despite being a weekly holiday, Sunday remained quite calm as people remained at home on the second day of the 10-day COVID-19-related partial lockdown in Sindh. All markets remain closed on Sundays and only weekly make-shift bazaars are organized on weekends in different parts of the city. Those Bachat Bazaars were not organized this Sunday.

There were reports of heavy rush at the Karachi’s Expo Centre’s vaccination centre since morning, however, it remained operational throughout the day without any intervals. No untoward incident happened in this round-the-clock largest COVID-19 vaccination centre in Karachi.

The provincial government announced to open 11 more round-the-clock vaccination centres in the government hospitals in six districts of Karachi. These centres would be located at Dow Ojha Hospital in the East district; Khaliqdina Hall, JPMC and Lyari General Hospital in the South district; Children Hospital, SG Hospital New Karachi, SG Hospital Liaquatabad in the Central District; Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in the West district; SG Hospital Murad Memon Goth in Malir district; and SG Hospital Saudabad in Korangi district.

Keeping in view the traditional inefficiency of the provincial government’s machinery, it is really hard to believe that these new 24/7 centres would be functional from the first day for 24-hour service. Except for Expo Centre, the other government-run vaccination centres in the city often function between 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays. According to a report, the government is setting up new counters at NED University’s grounds. The mobile vaccination vans are also been sent to different localities in the city.

The poor performance of the health authorities in Sindh can be gauged from the fact that it has recently established a state-of-the-art new COVID-19 isolation/treatment centre at KMC’s Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in Nazimabad, but its healthcare staff including doctors held a protest demonstration against the non-availability of PPEs and other facilities to them. Karachi’s Administrator had recently inaugurated the intensive care centre.

Pl. click to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ocJRtY7_k

The federal government continued its criticism of the Sindh government’s decision of imposing partial lockdown on the entire province instead of clamping smart lockdowns in selected areas. The Prime Minister in his public address on phone also criticized the provincial government’s decision. “We had a small problem between the federal government and Sindh,” the PM admitted. “Sindh government wanted to impose a lockdown, which is the correct decision and will curb the spread of the virus. But on the other hand, the thing to see is that will we be able to save the economy from the lockdown? Then there is the issue of hunger … the daily wage earners and especially the poor section of our society … how will they make ends meet during the lockdown?”

A high-level meeting of NCOC would be held in Islamabad on Monday to further discuss the pandemic situation.

According to daily statistics of the National Command Operation Centre, 62 people lost their lives in Pakistan during 24 hours on Sunday with 5,026 new cases in the country. Sindh has reported 2,549 new coronavirus cases; 20 more people lost their lives, with the death toll rising to 6,021 in the province.

A total of 18,618 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, while 368 more patients recovered from the disease.

Feature photo: Courtesy dawn.com website (Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1638177/pakistan-reports-more-than-5000-daily-cases-for-first-time-since-april)

Lockdown 2021 Diaries: First Day of chaos

The first day of the “partial lockdown” in Sindh was a panic day at least in Karachi. There was a hue and cry of businessmen in the media on the closure of markets and non-export industries and those still un-vaccinated people had thronged to vaccination centres to get their jabs to avoid any harassment by police for not producing vaccination cards.

Incidentally, there was the 2nd jab date for my son so we have to go to the Arts Council vaccination centre for the vaccination. At Rashid Minhas Road and then Shara-e-Faisal, there was normal-day traffic and jams at one or two places as usual and we were asking each other where these people were going in cars and motorcycles as offices and markets are closed. At least at 2 places, the police had erected barricades, which caused jams and slowdown of the traffic at Shara-e-Faisal.  

Outside Arts Council, we realized that there would be a rush inside as a large number of cars were parked outside the building. And that was the fact. An unusual number of people were standing in queues at the registration desks on the terrace.

Thank God, due to a better arrangement by the management of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, we went through the entire process and came out within one and a half hours.

But the situation at the largest vaccination centre of the city, Expo Centre was even worse. The media reported a large number of people had gathered there to get themselves vaccinated since early in the morning and due to the rush some people had broken the entry glass door, therefore, the vaccination process was stopped for many hours. There was also a report of a strike by the staff as they were not paid salaries for many months. I received a live report from Expo Centre as a brother of mine also went to get his first job and was standing outside the main hall in s long queue.

There was a report in the media that the government’s computer system to record the vaccination has also crashed due to heavy rush.

Even though the government had allowed the opening of grocery shops, police forcibly closed down major departmental stores in my area (Gulistan-e-Jauhar). I was buying some groceries at Al-Jadeed departmental store at main University Road, and the management suddenly started making announcements to vacate the store as soon as possible. The entry and exit gate shutters were pulled down in a panic as a Police officer at a petrol van told me that there was a violation of SPOs in the store so the Assistant Commissioner ordered to close it down. Two other major stores in the area – Bin Hashim and Bin Safeer were also closed down in the afternoon (much before 6 pm).

Sindh government on Friday (July 30) announced a “partial lockdown” in the entire province effective from July 31 till August 9 as COVID-19 cases have shot up to around 30% in a single day in Karachi city alone. Export-related manufacturing industries, medical stores, bakeries and grocery shops were allowed to open in specified times. Later, the provincial government amended the notification twice and announced further relaxed conditions like it allowed inter-provincial transport movement and plying of rickshaws and other passenger transport within the city limits by following standard operating procedures (SOPs). It also lifted a ban on pillion riding on motorcycles. 

Local businessmen’s bodies, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Anjuman-e-Tajran rejected the closure of the business. Even the federal government and its ruling party Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf severely criticised the Sindh government for closing down the businesses to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Sindh, especially in Karachi.

Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab and later PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari censured the federal government for its unrealistic criticism of the Sindh government on COVID-19 lockdown.

Federal government ministers Asad Umer, Fawad Chaudhry and Shaikh Rasheed opposed the lockdown and Asad Umer said the lockdown in India has pushed the economy of India on a backtrack and even it went down by 7% and still has not recovered. So the only solution is a smart lockdown. They said instead the provincial government had to focus on the implementation of SOPs. On the other hand, the Sindh government said it had no option but to impose restrictions to control the spread of the pandemic variant Delta. Murtaza Wahab emphasized the need for continuous engagement in dialogue with the federal government

Thanks to Google!

Today I lost my phone on my to the office in the morning. When I reached my office, I could not find it in my pocket or in the car. I called home, but it was also not there. Then I recalled that I stopped at two places — at an ATM of a bank and at a petrol pump to fill the fuel in the car. When I called on cell number, it was closed down.

My son, who is a software engineer suggested blocking the phone via Google. I did not know how to do it. I went to Google’s website and at the timeline, I found the map route of my phone, which showed it from my home to the petrol pump (here is a screenshot).

I went back to the petrol pump and the guard at the station informed me that he had found the phone when I left the filling station in car. He said he had deposited it in the office and I can take it. I recalled that I had stepped down from the car while checking the filling meter.

I heaved a sigh and collected it from the office with a lot of thanks to the management. My friend Imtiaz Chandio also met with me, said with a pride that it proves the honesty of Chandios (the owner of the petrol station is a Chandio).

After paying gratitude to the Almighty, I also thanked Google for telling me the exact position of the cell phone.

When I inquired I found that my cell phone was at aeroplane mode, that is why the call was not going through on the opened phone. In any case thanks to the Android technology I got back my phone very easily.

Thanks to Google!

Year 2020: A topsy-turvy year

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For many, the year 2020 was not good as the entire year was mainly affected by the pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19), which started in Wuhan city of China at the end of 2019 but spread over the entire world at the start of the New Year. In the initial months, Iran and Italy were the two major countries, which were worst hit by the pandemic COVID-19 after China. These affected countries, however, were controlled soon with the imposition of strict lockdowns.  

Soon, the virus spread over to the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Africa as a forest fire. Pakistan received the virus through Pakistani pilgrims who returned from Iran and Saudi Arabia. The first patient who tested COVID-19 positive had come from Iran.

Pakistan has to impose a lockdown in March, which continued till August, but it was not so strict as people did not completely observe the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The working class especially daily wage earners were the worst-hit section. Although the federal government had announced a one-time cash grant of PKR 12,000 to support the poor from the economic shocks of lockdown, this support could not reach to the majority of the population as the Prime Minister himself admitted that the government did not have data of 80 per cent workers.

The government also failed to impose SOPs due to a lack of cooperation from the masses. Media reported skirmishes between people and police, especially when police restricted people from going to mosques to offer Friday prayers.  

The virus’ intensity declined in July, but it suddenly increased again by the end of October and more people tested positive and the average number of deaths due to the virus increased manifold. This intensity of the disease still prevails on the last day of the year 2020. New norms of working from home, wearing masks most of the time and social distancing have now become part of our daily lives. We also worked from home till August when the government lifted the lockdown.

The year made a big impact on my personal life as I lost my mother on June 26. She suffered a stroke attack on 24^th June but could not survive and breathed her last within two days in the hospital. It was a big setback for my entire family. My father had already left the world in 2006.

Our family also witnessed some happy moments as well on the occasion of the wedding ceremony of my nephew Mairajuddin who got married on 12^th December.

The year 2020 would always remain in our memory with a lot of changes in the world’s politics. It was also the US elections year, in which Joe Biden won the election and in February he would become President of the world’s only superpower.

Politically, in Pakistan the opposition parties formed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a grand alliance to topple PM Imran Khan’s government, which according to them has failed to deliver as the economy is in shambles and prices of essential items have skyrocketed. A series of public rallies were held across the country despite strict COVID warnings by the government.

The government stuck to its anti-opposition stance and many politicians were put behind the bars by National Accountability Bureau, which it has never proven. Nawaz Sharif had to leave the country to get his medical treatment in the UK, but he refused to return due to the government’s policies. He was already convicted of his corruption and was behind the bars.

Pakistani economy continued to suffer amid COVID-19-related lockdowns when common people suffered a lot. People witnessed a steep rise in prices of all essential goods when sugar and wheat prices went higher due to scandals in these two commodities, involving powerful personalities of the ruling political party. The government failed to provide any relief to the people and it continued its anti-public decisions like increases in petroleum, gas and electricity prices. It seemed the government machinery was not concerned with the common people’s problems.

With the dawn of the sun of the New Year 2021, it is hoped that situation would be improved in Pakistan and in the entire world.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

When will Thatta Museum be opened?

An almost complete edifice and some replicas inside the “under construction” Thatta Museum are gathering dust as no one knows when it will be completed and opened to the general public.

One can still visit the brand new “City Museum Thatta” as an employee of the provincial Directorate of Archaeology, the only official, who is acting as a curator can welcome and show you the incomplete museum. He told me he also did not know about the fate of the museum.

“Due to the COVID-19 lockdown the work on finishing the inside remains unfinished,” the official said adding that the head office in Hyderabad can tell when it will be opened formally.

A brainchild of a veteran archaeologist Dr. Kaleem Lashari, the Thatta Museum is an attempt to depict the history and culture of the historic city since the invasion by Arabs of Sindh in 712 AD. It has placed some replicas of coins, clay potteries and dresses of ancient times.

A model of a carpenter’s shop with a model/sculpture and original utensils are placed at the entrance hall and a big boat depicting the love story Noori Jam Tamachi tale of Keenjhar lake is placed at the main hall. Some ancient manuscripts of the Holy Quran and religious books would be placed in viewers’ windows. Grave stones with inscriptions, Kaashi (glazed tiles) and carpet weaving loom can also be seen.

Pictures with profiles of Thatta rulers during the period of Mughals, Tarkhans, and Samas periods. Profiles of some major personalities like Doleh Darya Khan, and Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim Thattvi are on display.

According to the curator, the aim of setting up a separate museum in Thatta city was to educate people about the rich culture, traditions and history of this ancient city, which was once famous for religious educational institutions, trade and rich culture.

Necropolis of Malki, the largest graveyard of Pakistan is located juxtapose to the museum.

Another major museum in the district is also located in Bhambhor, which is an ancient city famous for famous folklore of Sasui Punhoo. The first mosque of Pakistan was said to be found here which was discovered from the remains of Bhambhor.

Jan Khaskheli: Poet historian of pain

By Muhammad Habib Sanai

Jan Khaskheli earns his bread by working as a full-time journalist and as a reporter he writes on very innovative topics such as birds and their habits, hidden aspects of ecosystems, plights of artisans, common men of rural areas, fisherfolk, agricultural workers, water situation, crop situation, environmental degradation etc., mostly in English and also sometimes in Sindhi. However, his first passion and love remained in Sindhi literature. Almost twenty years ago his first book of Sindhi short stories “Gum thiyal Manoo joSafarnamoo”, (Travelogue of a missing /disappeared person) was published that contained a collection of his short stories.

Now after a long break, his second book but first book of poetry entitledKhawaben je mosam jo hik geet (A song related to the season of dreams)has been published.  

This anthology contains 62 prose poems, which mostly were written during the eighties and nineties when he was living in Karachi. As a result, most of his poems are related to Karachi, which is in itself a big departure, especially in Sindhi poetry because prior to him no Sindhi poet has written about Karachi in that fashion or manner.

During his stay in Karachi from the mid-eighties to mid-twenties, he mostly worked with Sindhi newspapers, but he remained attached to Sindhi AdabiSangat’s Karachi branch, which was at that time, the most vibrant branch of Sindhi writers and literary leaning leftist and nationalist political workers. But he also remained active in Urdu literary circles and attended regularly meetings of Awami Adabi Anjman, the Literary committee of Karachi Press Club etc. Jan has now shifted in Hyderabad,

Some poems are long and some are short. The recurring theme is not personal wins and love longings, but socio-politico-economic situations and events occupy his poems. Manoj Kumar, who has written the preface of this book, has termed him as poet historian of pain.

The book starts with a poem about the poor women who got trampled while taking Eid gifts in Joria Bazar, Karachi on 14 September 2009:

To Moon

Attraction for wheat flour forced poverty to join a crowd….

Suddenly laughter of death frightened poverty

Hope got trampled …

Wheat flour got kneaded with bodies…

Now after a long break, his second book but the first book of poetry entitled Khawaben je mosam jo hik geet (A song related to the season of dreams) has been published.  

This anthology contains 62 prose poems, which mostly were written during the eighties and nineties when he was living in Karachi. As a result, most of his poems are related to Karachi, which is in itself a big departure, especially in Sindhi poetry, because prior to him no Sindhi poet has written about Karachi in that fashion or manner.

During his stay in Karachi from the mid-eighties to his mid-twenties, he mostly worked with Sindhi newspapers, but he remained attached to Sindhi Adabi Sangat’s Karachi branch, which was at that time, the most vibrant branch of Sindhi writers and literary-leaning leftist and nationalist political workers. But he also has remained active in Urdu literary circles and attended regular meetings of Awami Adabi Anjman, the Literary committee of Karachi Press Club etc. Jan has now moved to Hyderabad.

Some poems are long and some are short. The recurring theme is not personal woes and love longings, but socio-politico-economic situations and events that occupy his poems. Manoj Kumar, who has written the preface of this book, has termed him a a poet historian of pain.

The book starts with a poem about the poor women who got trampled while taking Eid gifts in Joria Bazar, Karachi on 14 September 2009:

Lyari, which is now a hotbed of gang wars, was once peaceful and cosmopolitan part of Karachi. He laments its present plight in one poem:

Pain is like bell  When it tolls in streets of Lyari,Leva dance is started. 

In another poem he talks about Manora and its surroundings:

 This sea and temple of Manora …
 And that church ….
 Oh Time come and use your full strength
 To quieten the violent sea
 And wipe out smell of hate. 

In various poems he has tried to depict the torment and anguish of Karachi and its residents:

Rose blooming season

 Today in our motherland
 Bullets are freely playing in streets
 … At city circle
 Along with heroes of stories, history,
 Songs and poems,
 Our longings are also burnt. 

Relations

 All dogs of city
 Have become guardians of hate
 And for wishing to dream
 Today have developed friendships
 Once again with stars. 

Story of a city

 Hundred kissable damsels  
 And branches of roses
 Fell down after getting injured
 Get trampled
 For their crime of love for life. 

He also speaks about the various ills afflicting our society such as honour killings, hunger, poverty, draught in Thar etc.

Hunger Either in Cold or in Hot Ways and markets give him a place Across the hub river, His Mother, Along with another minor son,  Peeping from the door holes  Will be waiting for son Might be she so hungry. 

Drought

Hearing crying of children,
 Prior to issuing of red milk
 From breast of any mother
 Feeble eyes shed tears 

Some poems discuss international events or personalities. Below are excerpts from a few poems having an international bent:

Tamil girl

 Over emaciated boat of longings
 A Tamil girl with gun
 Is following track of silence            
 Suicidal death is calling her. 

Nelson Mandela

In eyes of Mandela
 Those dreams still unfulfilled 
 Will dance in the streets
 After draping jewels of realization 

In the end, I am giving excerpts from some of his poems so that you can enjoy a variety of themes and images portrayed in them:

Short story of a long journey

 We singers of songs
 In the season of sorrows 
 Instead of laughter,
 Are humming Nohas/dirges
 Still
 Have not lost despite barking of dogs at every nook and corner
 Have not wavered
 We are travelling. 

Keenjhar

 From afar breast of Keenjhar 
 Seems like a desert
 Or a play ground
 Children get on boat and run
 Take fishing net
 Swing and sing
 All day they play in water
 At dusk boats are like nests 
 Of river birds. 

Dream of a Digital Pakistan shattered

By Shujauddin Qureshi

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A tweet by Prime Minister Imran’s Special Assistant for Digital Pakistan Ms. Tania Aidrus on July 29, 2020, sharing her resignation, apparently being heartbroken by severe criticism of her citizenship status has shattered the dream of Digital Pakistan forever.

Pakistan government shared the list of Advisors and Special Assistants to the Prime Minister (SAPMs) who had huge properties and dual nationalities. Ms Aidrus was revealed as a citizen of Canada with a residentship of Singapore.

This resignation news has nothing to do with the so-called ban on the digital game PUBG by the federal government or a proposed ban on YouTube by the courts. Ms. Aidrus had opposed the ban on YouTube. She wrote in a thread of tweets: “Banning a platform like YouTube is not a solution. The 3 years when YouTube was banned in Pakistan it held back our content creator ecosystem which has just started to flourish now, creating employment opportunities for thousands. Our focus should be on ensuring better curation of content through policy and dialogue. Brute force measures like banning will not serve any purpose and will hold us back from achieving the vision of #DigitalPakistan.” Please click on this link

Pakistan has been striving hard to be included in the digital map of the world. Still, many powerful forces inside Pakistan have always hindered any such attempt at a higher level.

With joining of Ms. Aidrus as SAPM had raised hope for quick implementation of the state policies and infrastructures for a Digital Pakistan, but she faced a series of controversies from the start of her joining the DP programme.

First, the former Information Technology (IT) Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui (belonging to the coalition party Muttahida Quomi Movement) resigned apparently for the rights of Karachi, but he was reportedly unhappy with the inclusion of Ms. Aidrus in her ministry.

Moreover, she also faced another controversy when a news item was published in the daily Dawn on June 26, 2020, revealing a controversy on social media, questioning the involvement of Tania Andrus, who is also a member of the board of directors of a company owned by Imran Khan’s aide and now the main accused in sugar scandal.

Only last year on December 5, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the Digital Pakistan programme and nominated Ms Aidrus, a Google executive at that time who quit her position, to lead the initiative.

The inclusion of Ms Aidrus on the board of directors of a not-for-profit company the Digital Pakistan Foundation (PDF) had raised concerns, particularly one leading to a conflict of interest because of the lack of transparency around the foundation’s funding and operations.

Although someone else will replace Ms. Aidrus in the DP programme, there is no hope for Pakistan being digitalized in near future.

I am sorry for Sir Zeeshan Usmani, an IT expert and a visionary Pakistani living abroad as he had submitted very fruitful recommendations to Ms. Aidrus in a personal meeting with her at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, which he had explained in his following YouTube video.

facebook.com/zusmani78/(opens in a new tab)

I am happy that we will soon see a revolution in the IT sector in Pakistan. But all this is devastating.

Had those recommendations been implemented Pakistan would be become digitalized very quickly. But the powerful mafia in the government was not ready to accept such changes and want to keep the country in the dark ages.

Heavy rains expose Sindh, City governments' inefficiency

Karachi city has been experiencing the worst-ever breakdown of civic utilities as the city received heavy Monsoon downpours in different areas on two consecutive days (Sunday and Monday). At least five people lost their lives due to electrocution in Karachi on Sunday.

Many areas in Malir, district East received heavy rains on Sunday as the met office recorded maximum rainfall of 86.2 millimetres (mm), or 3.3 inches, in the Gulshan-i-Hadeed area. Other areas, which received heavy included University Road,/Gulistan-i-Jauhar (80.8 mm), North Karachi (61.9 mm), Keamari (50.8 mm), Jinnah Terminal (58 mm), Saddar (51 mm), Pahalwan Goth (49.6 mm), PAF Base Faisal (49.2 mm), Nazimabad (28 mm), PAF Base Masroor and Landhi (23 mm).

With the first drop of the rain, power in many areas was shut down, which was restored after many hours.

On Monday the worst affected areas by the rain were in districts Central and West. Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal in district East also received heavy downpours on Monday.

This video was shared on social media (WhatsApp) by a journalist

Many areas in Orangi Town area were badly affected as water entered into homes due to rain as well as overflowing of the rain drains.

Residents have shared videos of North Karachi where gushing rainwater was even pushing vehicles and many cars and motorcycles can be seen floating on the water.

In Orangi area volunteers rescued dozens of students from a Madressah, where water from a Nallah (rain drain) had overflowed and entered into the premises of the religious school.

Reports of submerging of low-lying areas in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar caused agony for the residents.

No government authorities were seen on roads to rescue people. For example in Orangi, volunteers of a religious charity organisation rescued children from the Madressah. The city government of Karachi had failed to maintain a drainage system in the city. The floodwater drains were not cleaned on the time and the provincial Sindh government and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation or City government were seen at the loggers’ heads to blame each other for their failure to maintain the sewerage system. The City Mayor, whose tenure is about to end on August 2, 2020, remained off the scene during the two days’ devastating rains.

Another stoning of a Sindhi woman

The social media was filled with posts of the stoning of a married woman in Jamshoro district last week and a postmortem of the lady has revealed a high degree of torture and molestation of the victim. Police have already arrested a husband and some relatives of the woman.

This was the second case of stoning in recent history as a few months back a case of the stoning of a girl was reported in Johi, Dadu district, which was hushed by the Police under a high degree of pressure from influential Rind tribe chieftains who were also supported by a media magnate belonging to the same tribe. An HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) fact-finding mission also tried to cover up the stoning incident.

Initially, the Johi police had arrested the father, mother and a prayer leader in the case of stoning to 10-year old Gul Sama, but they were later freed under the pressure from local influential people.

A reporter from a media house based in Karachi had also faced outrage from the Rind tribe people as their chieftain managed to hold several protest demonstrations against the said reporter in different cities including in Dadu and Karachi. The reporter and his family members received threats from the local landlords and his supporters.

The new incident of stoning is feared to face the same fate as the tribal influential people and some sections in the establishment do not want a spread of the news about the centuries-old tribal custom of stoning in the media.

A recent statement by Women Action Forum has demanded the provincial Sindh government to send the case to the Anti-Terrorism court.

The women's rights group WAF has expressed serious concern over a post-mortem report of the woman, Wazeeran Chhachhar. The WAF said that this case had exposed the incompetence of all institutions supposed to enforce the law and society`s indifferent attitude towards women. It said that the victim`s body had clear marks of violence all over and according to the woman who gave a funerary bath to the victim, there were torture marks on her body also.

It said that according to a post-mortem report, Waseeran had also offered resistance and her nails were also filled with dust.

The cold-blooded murder of a lady was first reported on social media, and then local and foreign press took it. On this, the Chairperson of the Sindh Commission on Status of Women Ms. Nuzhat Shireen also visited the place near Sann.

Although police have registered a case against the woman’s husband, his brother and another relative. Father the victim woman is the complainant in the case. Police have also arrested the husband and his brother who confessed to torturing her.

According to a report published in Arab News it was a case of a family dispute of “Watta Satta”, which literally means “to give and take (relationship)”.

But it is not simply a family feud as the woman was brutally tortured and the post-mortem report has confirmed it. The WAF has feared that the case might be spoiled due to a lack of interest from the police.

Herd Immunity

“Someone was saying that everyone will have the Coronavirus at least once due to the pandemic,” said my wife, Shazia. “Is it correct?” she asked me.

“I don’t think so, because those who take precautions will be spared, ” was my reply.

But they say those who wear masks etc. will even have to undergo the disease, she again asked. No, it is not correct, I replied emphatically adding that it is propaganda like some people were saying that there is no such disease or others were declaring it a conspiracy. Even many were saying the government is receiving Dollars for each patient.

“Why are you listening to them seriously?” I asked. These people are creating fear unintentionally and your subconscious mind is quite sensitive so if you think along these lines you may receive it. Therefore, just ignore such comments, I said to her. But I senses she was not convinced by my arguments.

My wife is not alone who was facing such a situation these days when the entire media is full of news about the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 in the country and every day the numbers are increasing. Daily thousands of people are reported to test positive and around 100 people lose their lives each day.

The government policies towards controlling the pandemic seem they are silently going towards herd immunity, which means the government is not able to do anything, so whoever is contracted the disease should fight himself/herself and if he/she survives that is good as he/she may have developed immunity, otherwise, whoever is dying should die.

The ineffective testing services, inadequate quarantine and medical facilities in government hospitals have made Pakistanis vulnerable to contract the pandemic diseases easily. The private hospitals in urban centres are minting money by providing costly testing and isolation facilities.

The state’s health facilities are inadequate and insufficient and cannot cater to the needs of every citizen. People also have no confidence in the government’s health facilities. The majority of infected or suspected patients prefer to stay at their homes in quarantine instead of going to government facilities for isolation.

A lot of my friends and colleagues who have been infected with the virus have opted to stay at their homes in isolation instead of going to hospitals for receiving medical treatment. A journalist friend of mine who opted for going to the hospital said that he was kept in a hospital room along with other three patients (which means they were a total of four in the room). Because he was a journalist, therefore, he received good attention and better treatment facilities in a government hospital, but he said that other journalists who were also admitted to the same government hospital had left the hospital saying there were poor healthcare facilities and they preferred to go to private hospitals.

Oxygen cylinders, some drugs which are said to be helpful in the treatment of Coronavirus have vanished from the medical stores in the markets. People are buying masks, sanitisers and hand gloves at exorbitant rates. Even Chinese-made cheaper digital oximeters are being sold at much higher rates because they are in high demand.

I received a message (SMS) from a prominent drugs selling company that it was selling oximeters (which is used on a finger) at the rate of Rs. 4000 per piece. You might have seen advertisements on social media where people are selling these gadgets at higher prices.

Even though the government has not officially declared its policy on herd immunity, there is strong evidence that it may opt. This is also evident from the government’s callous attitude towards the pandemic. The Supreme Court of Pakistan also played a key role when it allowed Eid shopping during the last week of Ramazan. People thronged to the shopping centres without taking preventive measures or following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the government for shopping centres. The number of COVID-19-positive patients has increased rapidly since the Eidul Fitre and the total number has even crossed 220,000 patients now and over 4000 deaths.

The Sindh provincial government, which took appreciable measures at the start of the pandemic early in March, has also stopped its vigorous efforts and is following the federal government’s policy of indifference.

In recent days, government figures indicate that number of tests has reduced, which ultimately has reported fewer patients per day. But the situation on the ground is miserable as many deaths due to the pandemic are not reported.