Ramazan ambience brings fears too

For this city, it has been a tough, trying and tormenting summer, to be remembered as a bad patch in our lives. Now as we slide into September, the weather changes and crawls towards the welcome merciful mildness we seek. There is the holy month of Ramazan that begins a week later .Of course, the holiness will colour the mood of society, and the city will undergo a familiar transformation. No autumn yet. A mood of relaxation has possibly already crept in, as a readiness for Ramazan begins to show shape.

But in this traditional collage of the ambience that Ramazan will bring, there are some, at least some, worrying thoughts that surface. I do not wish to overdo the humiliation that the rising prices and the absence of purchasing power bring. But there is this reality of prices that one could begin with a newspaper report carrying the headline: ‘Food inflation hits double digits.’

This is real, and see what this seven-year-old boy, Fahad, asked his father on Thursday evening. He saw the atta, ghee and sugar that his father had brought home, and spontaneously inquired where had he done the buying. “From the nearby utility stores,” replied the father. The boy asked why not from the shops in this mohalla (Hazara Colony). And then he answered himself: “these shops overcharge.”

It is the awareness and the perception that is reflected in this young boy. He did not ask whether anything had been brought for children, but instead inquired further; why a large tin pack of ghee had been bought. He was told that this was an economical proposition. The child then moved onto other subjects.

Fahad is the one who gets the daily groceries from the small mohalla shops and stores. Possibly because the subject of prices is so integrated with most homes, and is so high on the domestic canvass, his focus on it is sharp. So sharp, really, that the shopkeepers told his father once that they should not send him because he quarrels with them when they charge more. “What can we do, if the prices are up,” say shopkeepers in their defence. Familiar argument?

Iftikhar Siddiqui, a young resident of Al-Hilal Society said that the prices of chicken are rising steadily, hitting Rs95 per kg, and I wondered whether it is related to the lawful return of the one-dish meal at marriages.

On the subject of food inflation which is of particular relevance in Ramazan, the above-mentioned report said that “Once again, the rising inflation, particularly of food items, is becoming a nightmare for economic managers, which (food inflation) during August 2006 leaped to double digits (11.8 per cent) from 7.44 per cent a month earlier; thus snatching the purchasing power of the low income group.” Even a friend from the upper class was shocked when he ended up buying grapes for Rs200 per kg in Defence Society during the week. His wife teased him by saying “you look aristocratic, dear!”

Now among the fears that the pre-Ramazan days have already brought in, (the others will unfold with time?) relate to that of prices of food items, and other essentials that go with the Sehri/Iftar discipline. It is the quality of the enforcement of the official price list that will be watched with more than keen interest this year. Karachiites are keeping their fingers crossed, even if they are pessimistic.

Given the nature of the pre-Ramazan price -- rise and control -- rhetoric, depressing images of family frustration, and domestic rage stream in. The anger of the housewife who cannot manage the domestic budget, and the helplessness of husband, mirror the dormant despair of the common man. No economic miracle yet from the much-trumpeted trickle down effect of macro policies that however get endorsed by international lobbies.

There are also fears (big and small) on another count in Ramazan -- the familiar traffic jam that has become a regular stranglehold on the city’s landscape. Karachi's traffic map, post rains and post road ruin, and in the wake of the underpasses and road building, has given birth to fears that we might see the country’s worst traffic jams this Ramazan.

Roads having sunk or sewerage systems having caved in, (like on Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road) are only aggravating factors.

Even these days, traffic on the roads has begun to reflect a pre-Ramazan rush, and with traffic police being understaffed and driven by considerations that ought not to be prevalent, there are terrifying fears. Traffic flows before Iftar time? Carry your Iftari with you; be prepared, advised one Karachiite who recalls several such occasions when he was trapped in traffic around Iftari time. And Thursdays are worst, whether in Ramazan or otherwise, on the point of chaotic, congested traffic.

But apprehensions about unchecked profiteering and traffic mismanagement apart, there is another aspect that is again worrying. This one relates to the further lowering of work ethics. The work climate deteriorates. As one workaholic complained that “they just don’t want to work in Ramazan. Even if a man is not fasting, he doesn’t wish to work. The overall climate becomes lethargic and inefficiency rises.”

I, of course, reminded the workers conversing with me that this is the general attitude in this society all the time. And that on Fridays and Saturdays, it is worse.

The workaholic lament that on Fridays, people don’t work even for half a day. They come late, and start preparing to leave for prayers, and they want to leave early to reach home and then the mosque in the neighbourhood.

There are many thoughts as September moves on, and Ramazan comes closer. If there are those amongst us who are focused on the fears mentioned above, there are others amidst us who every Ramazan remember the Ramazans in the past, in their lives. Some remember it in other cities, either in Pakistan or in India. I remember Ramazans in Karachi, for it is here that I have lived. Karachi in the month of Ramazan was not just peaceful, but also tranquil. That’s not likely, anymore.

The ARD meeting

THE Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and some other parties in the opposition expressed solidarity with the people of Balochistan last Sunday by holding a public meeting at the Minar-i-Pakistan. It was an attempt by the people of Punjab to sympathise with the country’s least developed province where tensions have been growing since the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in a shootout, as alleged by some, or the collapsing of the cave, as claimed by the government.

Some leaders from Balochistan had also come to see for themselves the sentiments of what being the most populous federating unit is called the 'big brother’. People from various cities of Punjab had come to the meeting venue, where the Pakistan Resolution had been adopted on March 23, 1940.

The importance and the role of the parties having roots in all the four provinces in strengthening national unity — differences between the PPP and the PML-N on policy matters notwithstanding — and their claims that they have harmony on all important issues, the PPP’s reservations about forming an alliance with the MMA, and the opposition parties’ inability to mobilise the masses in Punjab were noted by impartial observers.

It was a good initiative on the part of the hosts to invite the Baloch leaders to a city which has been the birthplace of almost all political movements launched in the past. The gathering was much smaller than what the PPP and the PML-N could have organised by working seriously. Chairs had been arranged for participants, which was a significant indication that the public meeting would not be a ‘mega’ event. Chairs are brought in only when a limited number of people are expected — and that was what was seen.

However, those who turned up at the meeting showed a resolve for strengthening national unity. There were some 80 speakers. The public listened to them for full seven hours. The last speaker was the exiled former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.

The Baloch leaders came up with a mixed reaction. Some expressed satisfaction over the way Punjab had condemned the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, while others said the reaction in Punjab was inadequate. Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, for example, said the people of Punjab would have to rise against the ‘oppressive system’ if they were serious in saving the parliamentary system.

He was fuming with anger while talking about the military operation in his province. Weapons being used against the people of Balochistan had not been used even by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir, he said. He was of the view that opposition parties should quit the assemblies immediately and launch a struggle against dictatorship.

Another Pakistan Oppressed Nationalities Movement leader Qamar Bhatty said Punjab had saved Pakistan by organising such a big public meeting. He said he felt that Punjab had been wrongly accused in the past of connivance with the establishment. The people of Punjab, he believed, would not let a smaller province suffer.

BNP-Mengal leader Abdu Rauf Mengal, who resigned as MNA after the killing of Mr Bugti, was critical of the Chaudhrys of Punjab for their alleged failure to do anything to save the slain JWP chief and their unstinting support for Gen Musharraf even after the tragedy. He recalled how Bugti as the governor of Balochistan had refused to help kill Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi during the latter’s detention in Balochistan; this, he said contrasted sharply with how the sons of Zahoor Elahi continued to support Gen Musharraf after the murder of the same man.

“We hold all cabinet ministers responsible for the killing of Mr Bugti and others. We believe that the people sitting in the Balochistan cabinet are also responsible”, he said, pinning the blame both on the provincial chief minister and the MMA ministers in his cabinet. He was not satisfied with the reaction in Punjab, and said it was ‘inadequate’. He said he was given more respect by the people since he resigned as an MNA, and other opposition legislators would also be adding to their honour by following suit.

Balochistan PPP President Nawab Lashkari Raeesani said it was strange that the government had not shown to anyone the alleged weapons and money recovered from the cave where Mr Bugti had been killed. “The people of Balochistan say if you (the people of Punjab) are with us, you should stand by us against the killers”. The PPP leader added: “If you want Balochistan to remain as a part of the federation, you should pass a resolution that never in future will dictatorship be tolerated”.

The public supported the idea by raising their hands. It was, of course, a good attempt by the Baloch leader at cooling down his fellow leaders from the province.

PML-N leader from the NWFP Pir Sabir Shah also did his best to deflect the Baloch’s criticism of Punjab. Punjab has saved Pakistan from breaking up, and I congratulate the people of Punbjab for their role, said the former NWFP chief minister. It was observed that all the Baloch leaders and those in the PML-N wanted the opposition legislators to quit the assemblies without delay.

MMA’s Hafiz Husain Ahmed added his voice to the demand. He proposed that ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim (who had yet to address) should announce the formation of a grand opposition alliance which should meet the very next day and all opposition legislators should quit the assemblies thereafter. But Mr Fahim did not even address the issue of a grand opposition alliance or quitting the assemblies.

Interestingly, no progress on the two fronts was witnessed when Mr Fahim met Mian Nawaz Sharif in London on Sept 15. Mr Sharif wants all opposition parties to get united against the present dictatorial system, but the PPP has its reservations about joining hands with the MMA. The PPP also does not want to quit the assemblies immediately. PPP leaders admit that the people are in no mood to come out on the streets at this stage and thus resignations will not cause any serious problem for the government.

There were some light moments in the public meeting as well. Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, the budding Ahle Hadith leader, told the audience that ‘maulvis’ more often were seen by the general public when a child was born and azan was recited in his/her ears or when somebody died and funeral prayers were offered. In this public meeting, he said, he had come to lead funeral prayers for the ‘dictatorial system’ of Gen Musharraf, while the JUP leader Sahibzada Fazle Karim had come to recite azan in the ears of the ‘child’ of democracy.

Punjab PTI President Admiral Javed Iqbal (reired) came up with equally interesting — and enlightening — views: “A million-strong army is treating 160 million people of Pakistan like a herd of cattle”. He said the military rulers had done disservice to the country, and went on to enumerate what he viewed as their failures.

Maybe, he was right in his assessment. But, unfortunately, military leaders realise this only when they are no longer in service. In uniform, they have quite different views. Even civilians perhaps would speak the same language if they were in a military uniform.

The late Veteran journalist Z A Suleri, who edited a number of newspapers during his career, was made honorary colonel in the ISPR. One day someone asked him what the military leadership was doing on such and such subject. “You civilians don’t understand the compulsions of the army”, he had answered. May his soul rest in peace. — ASHRAF MUMTAZ