LAST week, it was mentioned in this column that a burglary incident at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) in the third week of June 1966 shocked not just those who were its members but the entire journalist fraternity. So much so that a case was registered with the Artillery Maidan police station and reports were published in the newspapers.

Incidentally, only a couple of days later, on June 19, 1966 the annual elections for the posts of office-bearers and members of the governing body of the KPC were held. On June 20, results were made public according to which Sultan Ahmed was elected, unopposed, president of the club for the year 1966-67. Jamil Ayubi was elected, unopposed, vice president, while Syed Hazoor Ahmed Shah and Iqbal Qureshi won the secretary and joint secretary positions. Did the hoo-ha of elections push the theft case into the background? We don’t know yet.

Bear in mind, this was a critical phase in the lives of the city’s journalist community because the management of Urdu newspaper Anjam had laid off a decent number of workers in the name of cutting down on the losses that it incurred. On June 23, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) passed a resolution calling for a two-hour token strike on June 26 from 12 to 2pm against the retrenchment carried out in Daily Anjam Karachi. It condemned the downsizing calling it unjustified in view of the fact that chairman of the National Press Trust had recently conceded that the losses of the daily had been reduced from Rs75,000 per month to Rs25,000. A reminder: the KUJ was headed at the time by none other than that towering individual, Minhaj Barna.

By the way, things that week were heating up not just on the media front. The climate of the city, literally, had become almost unbearable. Karachiites had been feeling restless because of the hot and humid weather since June 20 and 21 when the temperatures hit 92 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The minimum was the same, but humidity rose to 73 per cent on June 21 from 63 per cent on June 20. The meteorological department had forecast a sultry weather for the next seven days with chances of thunderstorm and light shower.

On the one hand, the Met department was busy trying to inform the people on the latest weather conditions, on the other hand the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on June 24 at a meeting sanctioned Rs600,000 for the repair, re-carpeting and resurfacing of several roads in the city. How thoughtful of the corporation! It would be wonderful if its present-day officials emulate their predecessors.

Another thoughtful thing that a country can do is to respect and venerate those who sacrifice their lives in its defence. On June 25, Abdullah Bhatti, father of Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, was invited to an event organised by the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Memorial Society to establish an educational institution in honour of the hero of the September war. He appreciated the society’s effort and added that it was a matter of comfort that our entire country stood united in the hour of peril. He said educational institutions had the greatest responsibility for shaping the destiny of a nation. Wise words, indeed.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2016