KARACHI is sinking and stinking. Its roads are battered and bruised. There is power breakdown and water shortage. There is environmental pollution which makes breathing impossible. At the instance of the new management of KESC, trees are being pulled down mercilessly to take away the little greenery that this dusty and dirty city has ever had. With fuel prices spiralling thousands of liters of fuel is being wasted as smoke emitting vehicles crawl their way through dense traffic and flooded roads.Is there a way out? Not likely. The party that controls the civic government and civic facilities is far too pre-occupied, negotiating its spoils with the military government as price for its support to the party and the person in power. What that price is no one knows or will, perhaps ever know. It is all palace intrigue which is no business of the people.

Both sides claim that they are "most concerned" over the plight of the common man and yet they would not allow the spokespersons of the two sides to speak to the media. How else in the world would the people of this `land of the pure' know what the state and their party are planning for their benefit and relief. More cell phone companies which, according to the general, have become the symbol of the nation's progress and advancement. More television channels to `entertain' the people and keep their minds away from shortages and price rise, bomb blasts and rape, absentee teachers and empty classrooms, police brutality and rampant corruption, low literacy and significant poverty, deteriorating relations with all the neighbouring countries.

As for law and justice the less said the better.

Or, would the government rather have the people fed on official handouts of the federal and provincial governments and lacklustre statements of the spokespersons of the Foreign Affairs and Interior ministries, Inter-Services Public Relations Director or the financial wizards of this impoverished economy?

One can never be too critical of the state ownership and government control of electronic media because of the propagandist content of such media.

While garbage is lying around in heaps and rotting in the rain water, it is also clogging the drainage system creating water-logging all over the city. The underpass in fashionable Clifton is already inundated with water and may soon crumble under the weight of standing water if drainage system is not improved.

What would be the plight of the underpasses presently under construction in the relatively poorer localities where citizens have less consciousness of cleanliness can well be imagined.

What the affluent contractors and engineers, architects and businessmen do not seem to realize is the fact that their limousines and palatial houses mostly built with ill-gotten wealth are equally exposed to the pathetic situation outside. The garbage on the roadside would endanger their children's life as much as that of the poor urchin, the professional health systems of OMI and Aga Khan notwithstanding.

I live a stone's throw from the furniture market of Nursery which is a low-lying area. Every monsoon the area gets flooded and murky making it impossible to visit the market or work there.

Shopkeepers suffer great losses with the flooding of their shops and are seen to feverishly drain out water with mops and dry the damaged goods, oft-times fruitlessly. Yet not one of the 250-odd shopkeepers and inhabitants has ever considered forming an association to safeguard their businesses in times of adversity.

The situation is much the same all over this metropolis.

What is needed in Karachi is for the people who are otherwise lively and energetic and lose no time to stone and burn vehicles, banks and food centres whenever some tragedy befalls them, to channelise their energies for making life more bearable for themselves and their fellow citizens without having to look for state support and funds, except through their own resources and contributions.

It is time that the citizens of Karachi in small pockets and in different areas work to achieve corruption free justice and education, unhampered supply of utilities, hygienic and working drainage and sewerage system without having to grease the palms of the concerned officials, a clean and healthy environment, clean, potable water supply and fresh and smoke-free air. For a better morrow for our children, even if we had ourselves been denied these facilities because of the rotten system that we had all these years.

As Maulana Altaf Husain `Hali' wrote many years ago:

"Khuda ne aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahin badli,

Na ho jisko khyal khud aap apni halat ke badalne ka"

Are the citizens of Karachi ready for better life? On an ideal level to which we should all aspire, the answer to the question should be in the affirmative. As we take steps towards reaching the ideal we must ensure that are well-equipped for the ask.

BRUISED, battered and ignominious is how one can describe the state of Pakistan hockey after the recent humiliation at Terrassa Champions Trophy where the home side barely managed to save their blushes by securing a pathetic fifth place to avoid relegation.

It was déjà vu for Pakistan in the Spanish city with the visitors once again showing their vulnerability against formidable sides such as Australia, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Pakistan lost 2-3 to Australia in the opener, managed a 3-3 draw with Germany, and crashed 9-2 in their worst-ever defeat at the hands of Dutch.

As if that was not enough, Pakistan’s miseries were compounded by a 3-2 defeat against Spaniards. It was only a face-saving 2-1 win over 7th-ranked Argentina followed by another 3-1 victory over the same opponents that saved the green shirts from total humiliation. While the forward-line was in disarray, the defence was as brittle as it has been for the last so many years. The horrendous 9-2 whipping by the Netherlands exposed all of coach Asif Bajwa’s tall claims. It is amazing then that he continues to insist about Pakistan’s chances of making it to the last four at the forthcoming World Cup which will be played in Monchengladbach, Germany fom Sept 6 to 17.

Pakistan’s debacle has sent tongues wagging and there are many decisions that need to be thoroughly probed. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) big wigs recalled two “retired” stars — penalty corner exponent Sohail Abbas and left-half Waseem Ahmad — despite the fact that PHF had categorically stated their careers were over.

The million-dollar question is just what did Pakistan achieve by having the pair in their ranks? Pakistan had barely managed fifth spot at last year’s Chennai Champions Trophy and now did not improve on that despite having services of Sohail and Waseem in Terrassa.

Firstly, PHF should have taken the disciplinary factor into consideration before giving a nod to Sohail and Waseem. Both the players are habitual violaters of disciplinary codes. They made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2003 when they went to play in the German league despite being refused permission by PHF. They skipped the Australian tour but returned home to join the Champions Trophy squad. For most experts, it was a major blunder committed then by PHF since it encouraged the undisciplined stars to wield player power as a trump card.

The pair made the Amsterdam-bound Champions Trophy squad in 2003 although the disciplinary committee had recommended a one-year ban for the players for breaking the code of conduct. All PHF did was to slap a one-million-rupee fine on them. It was ironic that Mohammad Nadeem, the then team captain who left his German club in mid-season to join the squad, was shown the door despite his unconditional apology.

It was this sort of pampering that encouraged Sohail and Waseem to have their way. They also had a big tiff with former PHF secretary Brig Musarrat Ullah Khan which is an open secret. It were actually the differences with Musarrat that prompted the two players to call it quits after 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore.

Since their retirement two years ago, both Sohail and Waseem were repeatedly requested by PHF to make a comeback only to get snubbed by them. For instance, at the Azlan Shah Cup training camp last year, Waseem snubbed the PHF by saying he was available only for major tournaments. The PHF was doubly eager to see Sohail coming back in Pakistan ranks and invited the player no less than three times but to no avail. While national training camp was on, Sohail kept himself busy in practicing penalty corners for his department SSGC at the UBL Sports Complex, never really bothering to pay heed to national duty.

While PHF got snubbed by the two players time and again, Hockey Australia slapped a one-year ban on their star Troy Elder for preferring Dutch league over national duty when he skipped Azlan Shah Cup last year. Kookaburras preferred playing without Elder at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne but never compromised on discipline.

Ireland captain Roy Keane’s case is yet another example of how seriously the discipline issue is taken the world over. Keane was sent home from Japan after falling out with manager Mick McCarthy just before the start of the 2002 World Cup soccer.While PHF overlooked the importance of discipline, Sohail himself admitted that he had not exactly adhered to discipline, mainly because there was no one to check him. The penalty corner expert had conceded to this correspondent soon after his retirement that a more gutsy approach was required to tackle undisciplined players in the country.

“While we don’t have anybody in Pakistan to handle undisciplined players, I learned a good lesson when I was punished by my Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans on the very first day of his taking over as Pakistan coach in December 2003,” confessed Sohail later. “I and Waseem arrived for dinner half an hour late and we got what we deserved. Both of us were axed from the squad which played the first match of a home series against Malaysia and team won. I was happy that somebody was there to punish Sohail Abbas also. We need people like that here too,” Sohail had told Dawn on Dec 12, 2004, the day when he and Waseem announced their retirements.

Also, if one takes into account the technical aspects of the game, Sohail should not be a hot commodity for Pakistan now since the rules in hockey have changed a great deal.

The new FIH rule about hockey stick says, “any curvature along the length of the stick (the rake or bow) must have a continuous profile along the whole length and should occur along the facing side or the back of the stick but not both and is limited to a depth of 25 mm.” In view of such rule change, penalty corner strikers the world over have lost their edge, a fact which has also been admitted by coach Asif and his deputy Shahid Ali Khan.

If one considers statistics, six goals in equal number of outings by Sohail look impressive. But again his goal-scoring abilities didn’t give what Pakistan were looking for — a final victory.

With a world record 267 goals to his name, Sohail without an iota of doubt, is a hockey legend but his effectiveness against top sides such as Australia, the Netherlands, Germany or Spain remains questionable.

Sohail may be a great goal-churning machine against the lowly-rated India, South Korea, Malaysia or New Zealand but he was seldom at his prolific best when pitted against the giants.

In Terrassa, Sohail converted a penalty corner against Aussies while his second goal came through a stroke. He was successful on two occasions but failed to convert seven short corners against Germany.

A fearsome drag-flicker in his heyday, Sohail has never been considered a useful defender. In the recent Champions Trophy, his slack defence played a major role in the abject 9-2 loss against the Dutch. Sohail, like other fellow defenders, was baffled by Dutch strikers a number of times, while he missed a stroke against Spain.

After a two-year absence Sohail and Waseem returned and in “national interest.” It is surprising why the two chose to return only when three major events — Champions Trophy, World Cup and Asian Games — are round the corner. Why they didn’t bother to render their services at Azlan Shah Cup, Rabo Trophy or other tournaments during two years?

While the PHF needs to find answers to all such questions, it must decide whether the team needs the two players or should Pakistan go for fresh pair of legs and groom youngsters for assignments such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

As for the reports of Asif Bajwa’s resignation, it will be wise to let the man complete his term until the World Cup and not disturb the existing set-up. A poor show at the World Cup will, indeed, be an unfortunate event but as things stand in Pakistan hockey today, there is little hope of regaining glory with or without Sohail, Waseem or Asif.