IN the third week of June 1974, the budget for the province of Sindh (1974-75) was announced. It was, by and large, received with a favourable response from members of the Provincial Assembly (PA). But on the second day of the discussions on fiscal allocation (June 18), Ahmed Ali Soomro from Lyari was the sole Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member who criticised the government for failing to keep its promise to the people of his constituency of providing them with ‘bread, clothes and shelter’. He was of the view that despite the fact that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was fully aware of the contribution of Lyari’s residents to the success of the PPP in the general elections and had directed the Sindh government on several occasions to solve their problems, the provincial ministers were ignoring them. Sindh’s Law Minister Abdul Waheed Katpar interrupted Mr Soomro asking him not to make a political speech and confine himself to the budget. Mr Soomro retorted that he was labelled a rebel because he spoke the truth, adding the Chief Minister [Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi] had appointed a three-member committee for the purpose but nothing had so far been done.

Mr Soomro also criticised the police for ill treating teachers, including women teachers, in a recent incident during the latter’s protest for better working conditions. He flashed a newspaper carrying a picture of Mairaj Muhammad Khan in which he’s seen handcuffed and with a bandaged head. “Once he [Mairaj] was called a hero because he violated Section 144. But now he’s being put in jail because he was raising his voice against his own people who had done injustice to the teaching community.”

That wasn’t the only act of remonstration that caught the media’s attention. On June 21, it was reported that airhostesses and stewards working for PIA had started what they called a ‘black band demonstration’ on domestic and international flights. A press release of the Airlines Cabin Crew Association of Pakistan (ALCCAP) said the demonstration was part of their campaign for acceptance of their charter of demands submitted to the PIA Chairman, Air Marshal (retd) Nur Khan. The demands included remuneration of over Rs2,800 per month.

On June 22, addressing a press conference in Karachi, PIA chairman Air Marshal (retd) Nur Khan advised the cabin crew of the airline to desist from agitation and negotiate for a higher salary and allowances through the airline’s collective bargaining agents under the labour laws. He rejected the demands of the ALCCAP to be recognised as a separate bargaining unit. The PIA chairman, however, held out an assurance that he would sympathetically consider the question of a reasonable raise in salaries and allowances of the cabin crew. In his opinion, the agitation was illegal.

Since airlines and airports go hand in hand, and Drigh Road leads to the airport in Karachi, in another related news item, on June 22, it came to light that the beautification of the recently widened Drigh Road had started with the construction of footpaths on both sides of the highway. The footpaths were topped with white cement tiles of 15x18 inches, each of which made the surface look smooth and beautiful.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024