Here’s an inspiring true story that might change your opinion about Karachi’s policemen. It’s June 19, 1964. Constable Abdul Salam (in another version of the story it’s Abdul Rehman) is standing guard at a police station off Drigh Road. He sees an old woman in one corner. Suddenly an auto rickshaw emerges from nowhere and hits the woman. She falls on the main road and finds it hard to get up and return to her senses.

The rickshaw is followed by a truck, which is coming towards the woman at breakneck speed. The constable runs towards the woman and before the vehicle knocks her down for a second time pulls her aside and saves her life. But sadly, he himself can’t get out of the way and is run over by the truck, sacrificing his life. On June 23, four days later, this newspaper print his story under the headline ‘the brave policeman’ and everybody gets to know about him. End of story.

On June 24, Karachi police offered a reward of Rs500 for anyone who helps trace the truck driver. It’s not known whether their search bore fruit.

It was a turbulent week (nothing new in that nugget of info). Four students of the Government College Nazimabad had gone on a hunger strike to protest against the shifting of their college to Qasimabad. The authorities stirred into action when condition of two of them deteriorated, putting their lives in danger. On June 23, the directorate of education Karachi region postponed the decision to shift the college. It eased the situation and the students put an end to their strike. Good for the directorate’s image.

Did you know that the KMC once made films to project its image? Long before the marketing strategists took over companies at that. On June 25, Chairman KMC Syed Sardar Ahmed inaugurated a press preview of the corporation’s first publicity film ‘Municipal Corporation Aap Hain’ at the Bambino cinema. It would be a delight to see if the KMC still has a copy of the movie.

On June 26, a public meeting in observance of Bahadur Yar Jang’s 20th death anniversary was held at the BYJ Secondary School at Clayton Road. The meeting was presided over by Husain Imam and was addressed by, among others, Raja Sahib Mehmoodabad and Maulana Ehteshamul Haq Thanvi.

The same day a delightful exhibition of paintings by the talented duo of Aminul Islam and Rumi Islam opened at the Arts Council Karachi. The show was inaugurated by Z. A. Bhutto, yes, the same Mr Bhutto who subsequently became the prime minister of Pakistan.

The one popular name in those days was of Prof Abdul Salam. Of course, he wasn’t yet a Nobel laureate then. But he was a loved figure who often spoke to groups of people and enriched them with his enlightening thoughts. On June 28, Prof Salam was given a reception by the Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professionals at a restaurant called Sabrina. There he spoke on the problems related to nuclear physics, and the audience members included Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqi and I. H. Usmani.

Bring back those days please!

Published in Dawn, June 23rd , 2014