Z A BUKHARI was a broadcasting giant and a noteworthy poet. A celebrity of in his own right, he introduced and trained a decent number of artists at Radio Pakistan where he worked for a long stretch of time. On April 22, 1974 it was reported that Z A Bukhari had returned to Karachi from the United Kingdom after receiving treatment at a clinic in London. The former director-general of Radio Pakistan had a heart attack on Jan 2 and was taken to the Cardiovascular Disease Hospital in the city. He was subsequently flown to London for a specialist treatment where he stayed for almost eight weeks.

Bukhari sahib was also well versed in the art of public speaking. In those days, the spirit of activism and the ability to speak well in public could be found in individuals belonging to professions related to the well-being of mankind. On April 24, Karachi’s journalists at a meeting resolved to fight against imperialism and colonialism in order to establish a progressive socioeconomic order. In a resolution adopted on the occasion of celebrating the 11th anniversary of the Afro-Asian Journalists Association, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) reaffirmed its determination to struggle against imperialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Shen Pe-wen of the Consulate of the People’s Republic of China was the chief guest at the meeting. The speakers included: Zafar Rizvi, Abdul Habib Khan Ghouri, Abdul Hameed Chapra, Inam Durrani and Hasan Abidi.

The question of ‘resolve’, albeit in a different manner, came under scrutiny on April 23 as well when the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) waged an ‘air-attack’ on mosquitoes on an experimental basis by spraying insecticides from a light aircraft over three main mosquito-breeding grounds in the city. It was the first ever aerial spray in the metropolis which was carried out in the morning covering Mahmoodabad, PECHS Block 6 (from Baloch Colony to Korangi Road) and Defence Housing Society. The campaign cost the KMC Rs20,000 for 500 acres apart from the expenditure on field operations. The KMC believed if 80 per cent of the desired results were achieved, it would be a good investment since it was not possible to go for spraying manually from the ground.

Two days later, on April 25, satisfactory results were claimed by the KMC from aerial spraying of insecticides. According to a report, 80pc of mosquito-larvae were killed and mortality among adult mosquitoes was encouraging, too. The effect of the drive on the first day was not high but on the second day the percentage increased considerably. However, an examination of several ponds in residential areas showed that the campaign was ineffective because of the high velocity of the wind.

Speaking of numbers, on April 27, more than 1500 students of Karachi College for Women boycotted classes as a protest against the transfer of seven lecturers of the institution. They gathered on college premises where they expressed their resentment at the order of transfer issued to the teachers. They appealed to the chief minister of Sindh, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, to intervene and direct the Education Department to withdraw the order.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2024