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Cars and Cars- Karachi Memoirs

Cars and Cars

By:  Naveed Qazi

Probably it was a 1952 model Buick.  In those days mostly American or European cars plied on the streets of Pakistan.   Cars were not very common and whoever could afford one in those days would buy an American made Chevrolet, Desoto, Ford, Buick, Dodge or some premium brand like a Cadillac or a Mercedes from Germany.  The year was 1962, when I was born, and I was told that I came home in our Buick, which my dad had in those days.  Further details about the car are not available.  My paternal grandfather had a Desoto in those days.  This car was also popular in those days but later the brand died its own death.  Most of the American cars were luxurious and huge in size. Since petrol prices were not too much an issue, the cars did well in Pakistan.  On the Jeep front, Willys and Ford were the popular ones.  These were mostly used during world war and then became very popular with the civilians and you even find the restored versions from the 50’s still plying on the local roads.  

After a couple of years later, (and what I recall or have been told), we bought a Hillman Minx.  This was a British car.  I very vaguely remember the car as I was very small but the vivid memory that I have of our next car was a Vauxhall Viva, which was a two door car and made in England.  We kept this car till the year 1974.  The sixties however, went through a lot changes as far as car preferences were concerned.  Some of the brands which became popular and replacing the American Car market share in Pakistan, were of course Mercedes Benz, basically by those who could afford it.  In those days the popular models were the 180, 190 Diesel, 200 petrol and the 220S, the large bodied one.  This was the stunner and an all-time favorite.  The next in line category was the Opel Rekord and Volkswagen from Germany.  Two cars that really became popular in Pakistan.  The Rekord continued to be produced till the mid-eighties, then it was discontinued.  This was a large and roomy family vehicle.  The VW as was commonly known, was the small two door everyman’s car.  The peculiar thing about the VW Beetle, was it had the engine in the rear which would heat up in high temperatures in Pakistan.  The Beetle was a classic and was discontinued somewhere in the eighties (around) but again started in two thousand or so.  This car remained very popular the world over. 

Italians are known for their car designs to this day.  With the global sales of cars going up, they came out with the Fiat, which also became popular in our part of the world.  The small baby-like model was fiat 500 and 600, a small two door tiny vehicle.  The slightly bigger one was the Fiat 1100 D and 1100 R, in the mid-sixties, the 850 fastback coupe version, and later on the powerful 124 was introduced.  This car would run on Hi-Octane in those days and the Karachiites found it to be a fast powerful car.  The car was imported into Pakistan till around 1974 and later on, as it lost its popularity, was not imported in.  The Fiat 125P, which was manufactured in Poland was brought in the year 1975, but was a disaster and did not gain popularity at all.  I remember the 850 which my uncle bought in 1967, for around Rs. 16000/- or so.  The prices of regular cars available in Pakistan was in this range.

Some cars from France were also imported in the sixties, into Pakistan.  These enjoyed a more of a niche market and were sold in very small numbers.  These were the Peugeot, Renault and the Citroen.  The Renault 4. Which had the gear coming out of the dashboard, was imported by the government in 1975, but again, like the Fiat 125P, did not get popular at all.  

In the car market of course, the British did not stay far behind.  In the fifties and sixties, we saw a plethora of vehicles coming from UK.  The popular amongst them were the Vauxhall, Hillman, Ford models like Prefect, Consul, Cortina, Anglia, Morris and Austin.  The luxury brand, Rolls Royce and the Jaguar could be counted on fingertips in Pakistan due to their high price.  I remember our Hillman, our Vauxhall Viva, and mypaternal grandfather’s Vauxhall Victor of early sixties very clearly.  I also clearly recall the Triumph Herald, which was owned by an uncle of mine.  It was a light yellow colored one and pretty slick, two-door version.  The roly-poly Morris Minor was also very popular and I remember people in my greater family owning one.  I also remember a small Austin, two door version, was owned by my grand uncle and he would sit in front with his chauffeur.  The mini-Austin was also an all-time favorite, amongst car lovers, specially the Cooper version.   An outlier in the Karachi car space was the Skoda, manufactured in the Czech Republic.  It came and went.  

In the mid-sixties there came another change worth noting.  The government put up a few assembly plants for manufacturing cars.  The first one that I recall, was for manufacturing the Dodge Dart in around 1964 or 1965.  This model of Dodge Dart was manufactured in 1965 to 1967, (as I remember) and then production was stopped for some reason.  This was again resumed in 1969 in which the new shape of the Dart was manufactured, which continued till 1971. This was a very popular model and was the VIP and luxury car in those days.  Most of the senior government officials including Ministers, were given this car for use.  The other car that was manufactured locally was the Vauxhall Victor 2000. Another luxurious and large size car of those days, mostly used by senior officials.  The production was discontinued after 1973.  I remember both these vehicles very well as my uncle who was a senior in the government service had both of them.  The front seat of the Dodge was large and full, known as the bench seat, as was with most cars in those days, with a three speed column shift.  I remember driving this car in our lane somewhere around 1973, when I was only 11 years old.  My cousin Safdar, let me sit with him and drive partially in our quite lane in PECHS.  This was really a thrilling moment of my life.

Around 1966 a major intervention that I would term as the game-changer, came to Pakistan.  This was the entry of the Japanese cars in our market that actually changed the global car market, including Pakistan.  The Toyota Corona, a 1500 CC car was introduced in Pakistan for the first time.  The price was kept at around Rs. 17000/-.  Initially people were vary of the new breed of cars produced by Japan, but once the trend picked up, there was no stopping.  The Japanese cars were good on fuel and more reliable as compared to the other vehicles which were imported earlier.  Toyota instantly became the leader of the Japanese revolution.  The other models from other manufacturers were the Datsun (now Nissan) Bluebird and the Mazda 1500.  The Mazda was designed Giorgetto Guigaro, an Italian designer working for Bertone. Oh, what a design, sleek and sporty.  This immediately captured a niche market and became reasonably popular.  This 1500 continued till around 1971 and alter got converted to 1600 after 1972.  (Became the 616 and later 626).  

The Japanese continued with capturing the Pakistan market with the Corona till around 1972 and also introduced the Toyota corolla 1200 CC was also targeted for the economy-loving segment.  The Datsun also launched its 1200 version which was very efficient on fuel, and became the favorite Taxi car in Karachi.  The Mazda also came out with the 1000 and 1200model in the same period.  The government of Pakistan, somewhere in late 1973 or early 1974, imported vehicles from japan and issued permits to relevant people for purchasing the same.  The cars which were imported included a full range of Toyota vehicles, comprising of Toyota Crown, 2000 CC, Mark II, 2000 CC, Corona 1500 CC and Corolla 1200 CC, all 1974 models.  The Crown was targeted towards high end customers who wanted a luxurious vehicle, the Mark II for those who wanted power and a sporty look, the Corona for light comfort while the corolla for people who wanted a compact car with a good fuel economy.  The Mazda included a 1300 CC one, while Datsun was the 120Y.  Since the last few years Japanese vehicles had captured some market share and all the imported cars became very popular in no time.  In fact, since open import of cars were not available, the cars were being sold at a premium in the secondary market.    Till now air-conditioning was not a standard feature in the cars, and it continued like this for quite some years.   A second lot of imports by the government was done in 1977 and additionally, cars like Mazda 808, Mazda 929, and Datsun 260C were also imported, while cars like Mark II, Crown and Corona were dropped.  

We luckily obtained a permit in 1974 and opted to buy a Toyota Corolla in mustard yellow color.  We took delivery of the car and put in some seat covers and also installed a cartridge player with good speakers for music.  Than in 1977 again, we obtained a permit for a Mazda 808 and got it in Jackal Brown color.  Till now Japanese cars were the name of the game. Since we were nostalgic about old American cars, we also bought a used 1971 model Ford Torino, column shift, with a V8 302 cubic-inch engine.   This was in the year 1978. We continued with this car till 1984, and sold it off as it had become a white elephant.  During this period all the American car lovers would collect at Uncle Nazeer Shaik’s house in PECHS.  He was a connoisseur of American cars and had a garage at his house with a full repair facility for them.  I clearly remember meeting the big car lovers there and exchanging notes. I have a clear picture in mind of all the Ford’s, Oldsmobile’s, Chevy’s, Plymouth’s, Dodge’s, Caddy’s, and others. 

The next wave of change was brought about in around 1979 when the government allowed import of reconditioned cars by the private sector.  A few year old cars in a variety of metalliccolors, with good quality fabric seats, air-conditioning, fancywheel caps or fancy mag-wheels, wide radial tires and other accessories, branded as deluxe and hi-deluxe were introduced.  Even the variety of models and brands increase massively.  The car market accordingly progressed with the private sector players importing or people booking and getting cars on the gift scheme or bringing it back if they had worked for a specific period abroad.  The entry by Honda was also made in the Pakistan market by introducing the all Luxurious brand Accord in 1982 which immediately became popular in the upper segment.  The Honda Civic was also introduced in 1984 which immediately started giving a tough time to the Corolla.  

In 1982 the government introduced the Suzuki 800 FX, a small compact car, and also set up an assembly plant with Suzuki for manufacturing the cars locally.  The roll out of the locally manufactured Fx was in 1984, and immediately this car became very popular with the economy loving, sub-compact segment.  Completely Knocked Down Kits (CKD Kits) were imported and cars were assembled locally.  Some basic parts used in the car were also started being manufactured locally so that reliance on the imported parts could be deleted over time.  So the era of local assembled cars, along with imported ones started.  So now the market had a choice of sub-compact cars, and additionally Toyota and Honda also put up their assembly plants in the early nineties.  The hot-sellers were the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic and market was immediately captured by them. The demand was then met by the local assemblers by providing the market with reasonable good quality, luxurious vehicles, in which air-conditioning, power windows, automatic transmissionand other accessories became standard. 

The mid-eighties also saw the evolution of the market towards 4 wheel drive SUV’s.  The Launch of the 3 door and 5 door, Mitsubishi Pajero played an important role in bringing the Jeep revolution.  This became a hit immediately and especially the political people, rich businessmen and industrialist and landowners opted for it immediately.  This vehicle became a status symbol in those days.  Toyota also stepped in by launching the 3 door and 5 door version of the Land Cruiser II series.  The 3 door version was bought by the police department and also the army.  .  I was in Faisalabad in 1993 and I remember getting the Mitsubishi Pajero, 5 door, inter-coolerturbo from the bank as my official vehicle.  Later I purchased the vehicle and used it for a total of 10 years plus.

The auto market of Pakistan accordingly moved ahead.  The market was continuously fed by the local manufactures and some imports made by the people from abroad.  Luxury vehicles like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Range Rover, etc. started to be seen on the roads.  The trend further increased as the government gave some import duty concessions for importing second hand vehicles.  So now a lot Prado’s, Land Cruisers belonging to the 4 wheel drive SUV front, became very visible on the roads.  Additionally the Mercedes’s and luxury German vehicles also became common with the affluent class.  The trend continued for quite some years, until very recently, when the government placed some restrictions on their import and also increased some imported duties. This resulted in the luxury cars becoming very expensive and non-affordable, to a major segment of the market,which were earlier able to afford the same.  However, some new plants set up by Korean manufacturers have also been set up and initially are focusing small SUV’s. 

This is the history of the Pakistan car market as observed by me since the day I was born.  Moving form big to small, fossil fuel to hybrid and electric, city to off-roaders and so on.  Where do we go from here?  I think we will move along with the global trends towards environment friendly vehicles.  This form of transport is definitely there to stay, at least for the next few decades if not more.

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I want a Haircut! By:  Naveed Qazi November 9, 2020 I was around 9 years old.  I was studying in a primary school located near Nursery, IN PECHS area.  We were also residing nearby.  It was the weekly holiday and the doorbell rang.  We had a balcony in our house which overlooked the street.  I went out and looked.  There was a person wearing a black trouser and a white shirt on a bicycle.  It was Mr. Rauf, our regular hair cutter.  Yes, a visiting person who would cut our hair. I went down and let him inside the gate.  He parked his cycle and in the meantime I arranged a chair to sit in the small front patio we had in the house.  The chair was for me to sit and get a haircut.  He took out his small black bag in which he had the tools that were required for a haircut.  He also took out a folded sheet that he put in front of me, so that the hair being cut will not stick to my shirt.  He took out a small pair of scissors and got to work.  He sprayed some water on my hair from a spray bottle and started the job.  In about 10 or so minutes I was done.  Than he took out an ‘ustra’ for cleaning the hair on the nape of my neck and behind the ears.  I told him, no not this, please use the hand held manual machine you have for this.  He replied in the affirmative, and applied the final touches.  I was done and it was my brother’s turn be next.   This was the norm in the sixties and seventies. The regular barber would visit houses and cut the hair of the male members in the house. In those days there were a few hair cutting shops which people would frequent.  As we were growing up, we thought it is high time we started going to the barber shop rather than have the barber come to our house and cut our hair.  So one fine day, we decided that will be last time we would get the haircut at our home.  On his next visit, we informed Mr. Rauf that please we are grown up so would like to go out to the barber shop for a haircut and that he should stop coming to our house from now onwards.  The poor man agreed, although with a heavy heart, as he was coming to our house all these years.  We told our father that we would go with him to the salon next time.   Next month, it was time for our haircut again.  We asked our father to take us, as it was a Sunday. Me, my brother and my dad got into our small car and drove to Bahadurabad, where ‘Standard’ hair cutting salon was.  This was a shop quite famous and most of the residents living in Bahudurabad and PECHS would go there.  We parked the car and went in.  Wow, there were haircutting chairs on both sides with mirrors all around.  So nice we thought.  We said in the waiting area till we were called on our turn.  It was so exciting, our first time out in a barber shop.  The barber first got a plank of wood to keep on the armrests, for us to sit in, as the chairs were meant for adults.  He asked me how I wanted them cut.  My father intervened and said make them short, as the school requires short hair.  We were not too happy but had to agree.  Snip, snap the process started.  Similar process was followed by the barber at home.  In the end, the barber applied the ‘ustra’ on the nape of the neck and back of the ears, to give us a clean look.  In a short while all three were done, and we left feeling excited, after by dad paid the person on the counter.  From now on we do this every month. In those days this was the respectable barber shop in the area and there was another old place known as Modern Haircutters, in Saddar area.  The one in Bahadurabad become our regular hair cutting place, which we would visit every month. The population grew and so did the shops.  Some new shops opened up near Tariq Road.  We also were growing and were now moving about on our own on our bicycles.  We were residing near Jheel Park and would cycle frequently to Tariq Road and the adjoining areas.  While cycling on Iqbal Road, we noticed a shop by the name of Hollywood, near silver spoon, the famous kabab roll shop.  We thought to ourselves, hey, this is looks like a nice place and we can come here the next time, and we did.  So now onwards this became our regular haircut place.  Another such place, the name I am forgetting, also opened in a lane behind Tariq Road, where the two libraries, Rio and Ideal were.  So now we had a choice of barbers.  Great.  The price if remember correctly, was under a rupee (but I could be wrong).  This continued for a few years till mid-seventies or so. Then one day a new shop, in the lane opposite Café De Khan, opened, by the name of Wella.  Wow.  This seemed to modern and trendy and more of a salon, with varied services.  Let’s try this out also.  We went there for a haircut but the price was probably double what the others were charging.  Plus you were also supposed to tip the person cutting your hair.  No way.  We are not coming back here. And the simple life continued till the early eighties.  Suddenly we saw barber shops being opened in all the areas, like Defense, Clifton and so on.  This seemed like a viable business and investors were opening up and promoting grooming styles, haircuts and facials.  On the main Clifton Road, a shop by the name of Bali’s came up, plus a few others near boat basin.  Since we had also now moved to Clifton, we made this our regular haunt.  I remember the name of the person who would cut my hair, Mr. Aslam.  On day he spoiled my hair a bit, at which the owner, Haji sahib, who would sit on the counter scolded him, and told him that he would cut my hair from now onwards.  I continued to get my haircut, till the poor guy passed away after a few years suffering from cancer.  It was back to Mr. Aslam, till Bali’s became out-of-way, and I shifted to one near the home.  Keeping in view the growth of residents in DHA a lot of shops opened up in all the commercial areas, with Clippers standing out as more trendy and expensive.  The business grew which some shops sustained, while some shut down.  The different private members clubs in Karachi also started providing these services.   The last ten years or so has seen unisex salons being opened and visited by ladies and gents, both.  They offer different and differentiated services covering a wide range and are marketed by using the social media channels.  The recent covid times have also created a new breed of home barbers that have been active at cutting hair at homes.  This is a basic need for humans and would continue, in one form or the other, with us getting the job done based on price, convenience and need.

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Commerce College days

Naveed Qazi

May 30, 2013

 Commerce College Nostalgia

 PIDC chowk is a landmark of Karachi. It is named after the famous PIDC building, which proudly stands  here at one corner, while Sheraton Hotel, Pearl Continental Hotel and the monstrosity,  half baked, so called,  Hyatt building, at the other three corners.   The roads at this crossing, lead to gymkhana on one side, Beach Luxury hotel in the opposite direction.  The cross road leads to the chief minister’s house on one end,  and Shaheen Complex and the museum/Pakistan chowk at the other.  A fairly busy and an important intersection of Karachi.   The other important landmarks are Government Commerce College and DJ college sports ground next to Hyatt monstrosity, the Bara Dari (old polo ground) opposite it, Metropole Hotel (nearly gone now) and the commissioners house on the gymkhana side, leading to Sind Club, and Dawood Center  and Farid Center on the M.T Khan road side.

 The year was 1977 and admissions to Karachi colleges were about to start.  We were in BVS School and as per the zone system prevalent at that time, we were eligible to apply to Government Commerce College.  Science and Technical was not our cup of tea, so obvious choice was commerce. Forms were filled out and we got admitted to the 1977 class.  The college was well known for the quality education, but the additional charm of the college was that it was co-ed!!!! Wearing grey trousers and a white shirt, full of enthusiasm we started the four year journey.   It was a strict kind of place, lots of rules and regulations, uniform while in other colleges you could wear anything, restrictions on talking to girls in the corridor, no smoking and so on.  The studies were relatively better with some good teachers like Prof. A. W. Qureshi, Abdy, Subzwari, Chishti, Hasan Akbar, to name a few.  Mr. Farooqi was the principal, and a pretty strict one too.  No politics and no political parties were  allowed  and only a restricted kind of students club was present, to which elections were  held annually.   Light kinds of sports activities were also arranged by the elected representatives, which would be participated by the sports enthusiasts.   The best part of the college was the canteen on the first floor.  This was the haunt for bunking classes, having patties and coke or a smoke.  At ending time, the boys would rush to find a place on the railing in the corridor, and watch the girls go by.  This was s good pastime for most.  Than it would be time to hit the road.  I remember walking down  towards Metropole Hotel and using the thumb to catch a ride back home towards Clifton (when own transportation was not available).  These were days.  No hurry, no worry, 'thand' program.

 There were a few nice eating places nearby.  The famous bun kabab shops of Farid Center (next to PIDC) were the best.  They sold the most awesome bun kabab ever.  Hot, nice soft bun, tasty kabab and yummy chutney. Too good!!! The next door, Queens Coffee House was also well known for tea, coffee and nice aloo samosas.  I remember friends going there once and ordering samosas, than leaving a fifteen paisa tip for the waiter (that is all we had left), which he rightly returned by dumping it on the table.  Just outside there would be a stall on the roadside selling magazines.  We would stand by and flip

    them through, turning the pages to catch a glimpse of our ‘favorite’ stuff.  The place was famous for the well known paans also, but the right time for them was in the evenings  And, of course, if we were broke, we had the option of going to Karachi Gymkhana for some snacks and signing for them on our father’s account.  

 No airs, no graces, studying, enjoying the simple life, having a carefree attitude, taking things as they came. If a friend had transportation (in the form of a car or a motorcycle) same was used.  If not, hitchhiking was fine.  Neither the person giving the lift nor the hitch-hiker was worried.  These were the nice and simple college days, where have they gone now, My Karachi!!!!!!

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The Theater Era

70’s – The Golden Era for Cinemas

By: Naveed Qazi

January 05, 2014

 The time was early 70’s.  This was the golden era for movie theatres in Karachi.  As teenagers we had no worries.  Life was a lot of fun for us.  Morning time was school and then was our very own personal time.   We would come home, quickly have our lunch, complete our homework and then get on with fun and games.   Our favorite pass-time was playing cricket, hockey, cycling, flying kites, at times horse-riding or just loitering about in the streets.  We were residing in PECHS in those days and it was perfectly safe for us to spend time outside, without our parents worrying any bit.   There were two small lakes near our house; one was famously known as Jheel Park and the other a small lake near Ghausia Masjid.  We would buy some nylon thread and some hooks and make fishing reels out of them.  We would take a pail and some rolled dough and reach the lake to catch fish.  All of this was good outdoor fun.  

An indoor activity which was fun in those days was watching movies.  No, not on VCR or DVD, as they were not invented yet,  but going to the movie theatre.  For movie lovers, this was a real fun activity.  We would plan with friends or family and eagerly wait for Sunday to come. The popular time was the matinee show which would start at 3.00 p.m and finish at 6.00 p.m.   There were a lot of theatres in Karachi in those days, and new movies were abundantly screened.   Of course Indian Movies were not allowed in those days but Lollywood was name of the game.  The Pakistani film industry was doing well and a reasonable number of them were being released regularly.  The other choice was the latest English movies.   The variety was extensive for both the categories.  

The famous Pakistani actors and actresses in those days were Zeba and Mohammad Ali, Waheed Murad, Shabnam, Nadim, Shahid, Rani, Shameem Ara, Sangeeta, Kavita, Ghulam Mohiuddin  etc.   Movies with Mohammad Ali and Zeba, Shabnam and Nadim or Waheed Murad, would have a high probability of doing well at the box office immediately.   Some of the famous films of those days were  Heer Ranjha, Anjuman, Salam-e-Mohabbat, Afsana Zindagi  Ka, Baharo Phool Barsao, Umrao Jan Ada, Society Girl, Muthi Bhar Chawal, Daman Aur Chingari, Ek Gunah Aur Sahih, Miss Hong Kong,  and not to forget the famous Aina.   I recall another movie by Rangeela, Insaan Aur Gadha, a weird kind of comedy but fun. An attempt was also made by Jawed Jabbar to present a different kind of movie, Musafir.  An English version of this called Beyond the Last Mountain, was also released.   The Pakistani film industry and the cinemas peaked during this era.

We saw a lot of famous English movies in the cinemas in those days. There were the famous westerns, the thrillers, the comedies, musicals, adventure, war, mystery and suspense. Some of the famous  movies of the 70’s included classics like, The Godfather, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Where Eagles Dare, Guns of Navarone, Star Wars, Jaws, The Deer Hunter, Rocky, The Exorcists, Blazing Saddles,  The Last Tango in Paris, The Burglars, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Kramer Vs. Kramer,  Ryan’s Daughter, The Towering Inferno,  The Poseidon Adventure, Midnight Express, The French Connection, to name a few.  All Outstanding classics.  

The most frequented cinema was  The Palace, which was famous for classy English movies and with a weekly change. Another one was Rex next to Zainab Market.  Behind it on Elphinstone Street side was Rio.  Coming to M. A Jinnah Road, there was Capri, Nishat, and the newer one Prince. All very good theatres, with good seating and sound systems.   Bambino, Lyric, Scala and the newer one Star, were on beginning of Elphy, near M. A. Jinnah Road.  Lyric would normally show Urdu movies while Bambino and Star would rotate between Urdu and English.   In nursery was Khayyam cinema, which was good for Urdu movies. Here again there would be a new film every week.  Two other cinemas, Hollywood and Amber were in Bahadurabad, again popular for Urdu movies.

We would look forward to going to the theatre regularly.  Before the movie started, it was a regular feature to play the National Anthem, and all would rise to pay respect.  Urdu movie would start immediately and have a break in between, the ‘Interval’.  Before the break would start, you would hear the vendors enter clinking cold drink bottles and popping them open.  Another treat we looked forward to was a Mayo Chicken Roll which was normally available in most cinemas, but the  best one however was available at Palace.  Samosas, bun kebabs, chaat etc, were also selectively available.  

Then entered the era of the video and Indian Movies.  This was the death of the Pakistani cinemas and Lollywood. Eighties onwards, one by one, the cinemas were brought down and replaced with shopping centers.  The video, DVD, web and cable continued to rule till very recently where we have seen the Atriums, Cineplex’s and Nueplex’s being born again.  The new cinemas are good but dependency has increased on Bollywood movies.  Large numbers are seen thronging the theatres once again.  Let’s see how long this trend continues.

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Elections 1977—from the eye of a 14 year old

  Elections 1977—from the eye of a 14 year old

  By: Naveed Qazi

May 19, 2013

  It was January, 1977 and  I was around 14 years old at that time,  living in P.E.C.H.S , Block 2 area.    This was the golden era, when we were allowed to move freely in the city.  We would stroll at our free will, run around, play, travel in public transportation, go to the mosque to pray, all done without any inhibitions.  Our parents would not worry that we were out of the house, no matter what hour of the day it was. 

  This was the year of elections as the PPP regime was in the final year of ruling the country.   The late Z. A Bhutto was the strong Prime Minister and Late Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi the Chief Minister of Sindh.  PPP was about to complete its tenure, but the mood was upbeat and confidence level with the PPP ruling elite was at an all time high.  As per intelligence reports,  Bhutto had nothing to worry about, the party would sweep the elections.    With these reports and this mood, Bhutto announced that elections would be held in the country in March, instead of July, which was the time period otherwise.  The grand announcement was made.  The Election date was announced as 7th March for National Assembly, and 10th March for Provincial Assemblies.

  The election activity started.  Bhutto’s party was too strong so the opposition decided to form a grand alliance.  They decided to name the alliance as PNA (Pakistan National Alliance).  The nine parties that were part of PNA were  the National Democratic Party (NDP), the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Islam (JUI), the Muslim League (PML), the Jamaat-e Islami (JI), the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Pakistan (JUP), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Pakistan Tehrik-e Istaqlal (PTI), the Khaaksaar Tehrik and the finally Sardar Qayyum Khan’s Muslim Conference.  The composition was both right and left parties.  Out of these,  NDP of Sardar Sherbaz Mazari,  Tehreek-e- Istaqlal of Air Marshall Asghar Khan, Jamaat Islaami and PML were sizeable with strong support.  

The electioneering started and the public of Karachi got into the election mood.  We were school kids at that time but got involved in the activity.  Those were the days when we would be using bicycles to move around.  And lo and behold, we got party flags put up on our bikes.  Caps and badges were the other items used.  All the neighborhood kids were gung-ho and we would go around the area, between Kashmir Road and Nursery, on our decorated bikes shouting slogans for the party that we supported.  The group was mixed but popular support was for PPP.  I remember  election slogans—‘7 March and  10 March, Asghar Khan quick March’,   ‘Ganjay keh sar per hal chalay gaa’,  ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makaan, Bhutto nikla bai-imaan’.   It was fun and frolic for us.  We were not old enough to vote but the activity kept us busy and happy.

    Bhutto, being arrogant and confident as he was, decided to go for a kill.  The objective was to win the election with a bang, no matter what the cost.  A grand plan (apparently) was drafted by which selective rigging would be done and PPP will win with a wide margin.  The date came, votes were cast, and as predicted (or decided)  PPP won with a big bang.  This was not acceptable at all.   Massive protests started.  The nine party alliance mobilized the vote bank and people all over the country came out on the streets.  The election results were not accepted and mayhem started.   This continued for some time with no resolution in sight. 

The protesters were on the streets, life was disrupted, and economic activities came to a standstill.  Section 144 was imposed and most of the big leaders of PNA were arrested.  However, the protests continued.  The only solution-- reach a compromise and arrive at a settlement.  Negotiations started and finally a settlement was reached around end of June.  The terms were re-elections in near future, release of political leaders, finishing press censorship etc.   But before this could be practically implemented, on 5th July, 1977, Gen. Zia-Ul-Haq arrested Z. A. Bhutto and implemented Martial Law.  The time for drugs, guns, terrorism had started……………………………

  *******************************

    Naveed Qazi

83/1, 29th street, Phase 6, Off Khayaban Seher,

DHA, Karachi

  Phone: +92300-8226454

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Reminiscences

                                                                                                                Two,  young ‘O’ level kids grapple over a girl.  A guard of one of the kid’s takes out a gun and shoots the other boy point blank in the chest.  All this happened in front of a café in DHA.    What a pathetic state of affairs.  Gun culture continues to be promoted by each successive government and no respite in sight.  Handguns,  automatic weapons, licensed or unlicensed, no worries.  If you can afford it, do carry guards.  This is what the parents are doing nowadays.  By providing cars/jeeps and guards, the parents feel they have fulfilled their duty.  There is no discussion on values; there is no discussion on behaviors.   The children party all the time and get hooked on alcohol and drugs, with the parents not aware or don’t care attitude.  It was never like this.

  I clearly remember the days when I was growing up.  We used to live in a middle class area of PECHS and  were studying in a school in Nursery.  We were lucky we had a car in the house and our father used to drop us to school and pick us up,  everyday.    It was a great life.  Not all the children were fortunate enough like us and used to take public transport or walk to school.  Having said that, we would also walk back from school at times.   Some other children from our neighborhood were also studying in the same school, and we would return together, four or five young children all aged 8 or 10, walking back 2 or 3 kilometers, without any worries.  In fact, the walk back was a lot of fun.  At times we would use Razi Road as our return route and at other times climb over the hill in Nursery to get to PECHS.  The sign of reaching home was sighting Ghausia Masjid, which was quite near to where we lived.   On the way we would break ‘Kairies’, ‘Bairs’, ‘Imli’, and “Jamun’ as these trees were plentiful in the area. 

  Once we came home, we did a quick freshening up and change of clothes.  Next activity was lunch.  After that we would hit our books.  Quickly go through what was needed to be done, finish our homework, and if any test was expected, quickly go through the material.  We were in a hurry to do all of this as around 4.30 pm we had to be outside again.  This was the high time of the day—time when all the kids from the neighborhood would collect outside and play hockey, cricket, football, kite flying, pittu etc.  Or rush to the cycle rental shop in Ghausia Masjid,  get a bicycle on rent and go around the block or all the way to Hill Park.  This was fun and something all the kids would look forward to.  Maghreb was the time to get back inside, quickly freshen up and watch TV.  This was the time when PTV had been launched and test transmissions were on.  Cartoons, comedy shows, action programs, something we looked forward to watching.  Being outside, walking alone, cycling, going to Tariq Road, was something we just did, without batting an eyelid.  There were not guards, no guns, just some plain and simple outdoor fun.   Some frequent haunts for eating were Toppa ice-cream cone on Iqbal Road,  Highway bakery for a chicken roll or a lemon tart, fried chicken from Kentucky Fried chicken (not the franchise but a small take out store near Jheel Park).   

  Time went on and we moved to secondary school.  Moved to a Parsi school in Saddar area, but the lifestyle continued to be similar.  The commute to the school increased but as we grew older also started using the public transport at times to get back.  The public buses touching Tariq Road were number 10 and 11B.  Both would be used to get back from the greater Saddar area. 

  Focus on seasonal outdoor games continued and we would frequently visit Gander Sports to get the sports equipment we needed.    In case of some specialty equipment like an expensive cricket bat or hockey stick, the place to visit was Jinnah Sports and London sports on M.A Jinnah road.    The summer holidays were the best time to do this and the route number 10 bus was ideal.   Visiting Ideal and Rio Library off Iqbal Road for getting comics or fiction books on rent, London Book House and Habib Book Depot for buying books, Ali’s Toyland for toys and gifts, was something we did regularly.  Along with this lifestyle, our parents, especially my mother, would spend time with us regularly.  Sitting together in the evening while watching TV and discussing different subjects was the norm.    There was a strong focus on learning new things, values, what’s good and what’s bad.   If any help was needed with homework, this was the time.  Over weekends, we always had time to attend family functions, visit relatives and get a special treat by eating at Tung Nan, Shanghai and Spinzer in Mohammad Ali Society or Defence old market. 

  This is how we grew up.  No worries about being mugged, no TV or arcade games, no Nintendo, no laptops, no visiting sheeshah café’s. no cell phones but nevertheless a lot of fun.    Then very rapidly the entire Karachi landscape changed.  All of a sudden, in the eighties things started going bad and continued to deteriorate.  Guns, drugs and alcohol, kidnappings, extortion, murders and killings, all have become the norm of the day.  What have we gotten into?  What have we done to our Country? Can we get out of this mess?  It is high time we change ourselves, challenge the status quo.  Accept what is right and outright reject what is wrong.  Now is the time, if we don’t do it now, it may be too late.

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