We make haste slowly. Supreme Court Judge Salim Akhtar, on November 1, 1993, in HR No.4-K of 1992 (1996 SCMR 543), inter alia, ordered as follows:

"As regards noise pollution the following interim order is passed:-

"(i) As required by the Motor Vehicles Ordinance, the concerned authorities should ensure that the motorcycle rickshaws are not allowed to ply without silencers. It has been pointed out that there has been a practice in Karachi that the silencers are not fitted in the motorcycle rickshaws. Such practice, however, cannot override the provisions of law, particularly rules 155 and 158 of the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1969. In the existing circumstances, all the persons owning or plying motorcycle rickshaws should be given one month's time to get the silencers fitted in their motorcycle rickshaws. Wide publicity should be made through the press, radio and television. Such notices should also be displayed at public places. After the expiry of one month action shall be taken against motorcycle rickshaws plying without silencers."

Eight years later, in 2001, the Provincial Ombudsman, Haziqul Khairi, took suo moto action. He ordered the police to act.

The police moved and acted. They sought out engineers to 'invent' a silencer to silence our motorcycle rickshaws. One of them, engineer M.K. Khan, produced a silencer, highly suitable, which considerably reduced the decibels that assault our ears each day, and cost less than $10 to manufacture and install. On December 18, 2002, at a much publicized ceremony, the usual suspects were invited, the shifting 'elite' of this city was duly rounded up, and Mr Khan was deservedly lauded by Syed Kamal Shah, PSP, provincial police officer, Sindh, and presented with a 'certificate of appreciation' which reads:

"It gives me immense satisfaction to express my unalloyed appreciation to Mr M.K. Khan for his sterling services in producing low noise level silencers for rickshaws.

"It is worth mentioning that this pioneering project of public welfare was undertaken by Mr M.K. Khan with zeal rarely shown by concerns in the private sector.

"Mr Khan not only invested his money but also his precious time in producing this novel low silencer which not only has passed the vigorous test of SEPA but has been widely accepted by the rickshaw unions and drivers."In a nutshell, the low silencer produced by Mr M.K. Khan has not only significantly lowered the noise level to 85-87 decibels which is the internationally acceptable level but also has minimized the smoke pollution which was one main cause of pollution in Karachi.

"On the whole, the Sindh police fully supports and endorses the noble efforts undertaken by Mr M.K. Khan in producing low noise silencers and assures full cooperation in extending all support in this venture of public good."

Mr Khan's silencers may well be pleasing to the ears of the millions of citizens who ply this city's roads, but not to the common ignorant rickshawwallahs, all of whom had been ordered by the traffic police that if they wished to continue their business and be issued with a fitness certificate, they should fit their rickshaws with the 'Khan silencer'. The 'wide acceptance' of the rickshawwallahs soon faded. They maintained that the silencer with its reduced noise retarded the acceleration of their vehicles and drastically increased their fuel consumption.

In January 2004, three rickshaw owners filed in the Sindh High Court a constitutional petition (D-34/2004) against the province of Sindh and six other respondents. On February 12, 2004, Justices Anwar Zahid Jamali and Ali Aslam Jafri of the high court of Sindh, handed down their order:

"The petitioners, who claim themselves to be the owners of their respective autorickshaws, have preferred this constitutional petition to agitate their grievances against the respondents and to challenge their actions whereby they are being compelled by the Respondents to insall only those silencers in their autorickshaws which are manufactured, sold and supplied by Mushtraiqa Autorickshaw Welfare Ittehad Association. Their contention is that such condition imposed by the respondents is not only unlawful but in violation of their fundamental rights, as they are only required to install silencers of required specifications in terms of relevant provisions of Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965, Rules framed thereunder, and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1977.

"The respondents have denied the allegations of the petitioners to the extent that they have been compelling or forcing the autorickshaw owners to arrange and install silencers from any particular manufacturer or supplier. They have made reference to various provisions of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1977, Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965, and rules framed thereunder, and taken the stand that the requirement of such provisions of law is to be met by the petitioners/autorickshaw owners for getting certificates of fitness from the concerned motor vehicle inspector.

"Today, Mr Sarwar Khan, A.A.G. Sindh, has made a categorical statement on behalf of the respondents that the respondents will not insist that the autorickshaw owners seek certificates of fitness from the concerned motor vehicle inspector for installation of silencers of any particular brand, manufactured or supplied by any particular company, association or agency, but at the same time the certificate of fitness to be issued to the autorickshaw owners will be subject to the installation of silencers of standard specifications in accordance with law. He further stated that the practice of mentioning silencer number in the certificate of fitness, which has no force of law, will be discontinued forthwith.

"It seems that the statement made by the learned A.A.G. Sindh, has virtually served the purpose of this petition as on that basis substantially the grievance agitated by the petitioners will be redressed and the relief claimed by them could also be granted to the petitioners.

"In view of the above, instead of examining factual controversies about the conduct of the respondents in the past, which even otherwise may not be possible for us in writ jurisdiction and will also not serve any fruitful purpose, we deem it just and proper to dispose of this petition with the observation that the above noted statement made by the A.A.G., Sindh, will be strictly binding on the respondents and further no uncalled for harassment will be caused to the petitioners/autorickshaw owners at the time of obtaining certificate of fitness on the pretext of any specific manufacturer of the silencers or certificates by any particular association.

"This petition stands disposed of in the above terms along with listed application."

Since the petition was filed, Engineer Khan has not sold one single silencer; his workshop, with its machines, tools and dyes lies inoperative. He came to me and asked me what he should do. Well, it is difficult, time-consuming, expensive and too often unsuccessful to put up a fight against the 'system', I told him: the best thing for you to do would be to get out of this place, move to the US where the majority of your ten siblings are living and thriving, and get on with life. General Motors is always on the look out for another Henry Ford.