DESPITE certain measures taken by the government, such as the process of nationalisation, the crisis of ghee shortage that had gripped Karachi for over a month was still troubling citizens. On Sept 4, 1973 it was reported that the federal government’s decision to nationalise the vanaspati ghee industry had not affected the existing ghee distribution system in the province. On the other hand, Provincial Minister for Food, Agriculture and Cooperation Syed Abdullah Shah and Minister for Labour Abdul Sattar Gabol assured that there was no dearth of ghee in Karachi and it could be purchased from dealers on production of ration cards.

On Sept 5, Sindh Chief Minister Mumtaz Ali Bhutto visited a couple of oil mills in the city and claimed the supply of ghee was improvingrapidly. He assured some scarcity which was still being experienced would also be removed ‘within a few days’. The chief minister exhorted the workers of ‘taken-over factories’ to speed up their efforts. “You must work day and night now to make the nationalisation decision a success.”

What was definitely not in short supply in those days was the love for the country. On Sept 6, homage was paid to the soldiers who laid down their lives in Pakistan’s defence at programmes arranged in the Sindh capital to observe Defence Day. The Peoples Party’s Kamal Azfar, who presided over a meeting held under the auspices of the All Pakistan Labour Federation, recalled the deeds of the armed forces and asked the people to keep the flame of liberty burning. Tributes were also paid to the valiant forces at a symposium organised at the Pakistan National Centre. Speakers such as Ibrahim Jalees and Amanullah Khatak emphasised the role that the nation could play alongside its forces in defending their motherland.

This was the time when an elected government was in the saddle and yet the media was under the cosh. On Sept 8, work remained suspended in the offices of newspapers and agencies during a three-hour token strike by journalists as a protest against the banning of Hurriyet, Jasarat and Mehranand the arrest of their editors, printers and publishers. During the period — from 1pm to 4pm — a rally was also held at the Karachi Press Club led by Minhaj Barna, the president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). The meeting urged the government to lift the 30-day ban on the three dailies and release their editors, printers and publishers unconditionally. In a resolution it expressed concern at the government’s persistent anti-press policy and condemned the withdrawal of official advertisements and newsprint quota of a number of independent or dissenting newspapers and journals including Jang, Nawa-i-Waqt, Al Fatah and Jamhoor etc.

On Sept 9, the journalist fraternity demanded immediate suspension of police officers responsible for bringing editors of Hurriyet and Jasarat in handcuffs to the court. The Hurriyet Employees Union sent copies of the newspapers which published the photographs of Mr Anwar Khalil and Mr Salahuddin in handcuffs to the People’s Party as well as to the opposition leaders to draw their attention to the shabby treatment given to the editors.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2023