What was good about Dec 1, 1970? Answer: it was Eidul Fitr in Pakistan. But it was a difficult period too: the eastern wing of the country (now Bangladesh) was hit by a cyclone. So the nation celebrated Eid with religious fervour and marked austerity in sympathy with the victims of the unprecedented cyclone devastation in East Pakistan. In Karachi, the main congregational prayers were held at Polo Ground led by Maulana Hamid Jalali. Governor of Sindh Lt-Gen Rakhman Gul, high government officials and diplomats of Muslim countries offered their prayers at the ground. The other big congregation took place at Nishtar Park. Maulana Ehteshamul Haq Thanvi led it. There was a large turnout at the park as well. In his sermon the Maulana dwelt at length on the havoc caused by the cyclone in East Pakistan. On the political situation in the country he opined that certain elements had raised their head in an effort to introduce a system which is alien to Islam. He asked the gathering to support the Islam-pasand candidates in the forthcoming national and provincial assemblies’ elections (Dec 7).

Yes, it was election time. On Dec 5, it was reported that according to a survey a minimum of 7,000 workers would be engaged by the 62 National Assembly candidates in Karachi for ‘election day work’. This was in spite of the fact, the study claimed, that while the serious candidate were expected to engage up to 3,000 workers, the less serious ones might be satisfied with just a couple of hundred. Each contestant was required to nominate four polling agents for four polling booths at each polling station. In addition, they were asked to provide with at least one standby to replace the tiring colleague. They were also to ensure a minimum of 10 to 12 persons to man the election camp.

However, the next day this newspaper ran a story saying most of the people who had been assigned the work of conducting the polling process were not properly briefed on how they were going to manage it. It was particularly true of the female personnel who were still ‘at their wits end’ about how they would report themselves at their respective stations at such an unearthly hour as 5am when even the buses did not start moving on the city roads. Transport for female workers had become all the more necessary because none of the polling stations, reportedly, were located within walking distance of their residences.

In three out of the seven NA constituencies of the city, women candidates were competing against their male counterparts. In fact, there were two women from one and the same constituency, Karachi IV, where Begum Mujeebunnisa Akram was pitted against Begum Kaniz Fatima. The former was contesting on the ticket of the Convention Muslim League and the latter on the National Awami Party (Bhashani) ticket.

Speaking of women, the Mustafa Zaidi case was still in the news. On Dec 4, Shahnaz Gul, accused of Mr Zaidi’s murder, at the request of the police was transferred to a judicial lockup. The police were understood to have informed the military authorities that they did not need Shahnaz anymore for questioning as the investigations had entered a crucial stage.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2020