WHILE the federal information minister and the Punjab governor were presiding over meetings of pensioners of the daily Imroze oppressively closed down by then prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif who replaced Benazir in 1991.

In Benazir's time the government had started targeting the PPL (Progressive Papers Limited) which used to publish the most progressive papers of Asia…the Pakistan Times, Imroze, weekly Lail-o-Nihar and monthly Sports Times). Benazir's information secretary and industrialist from Karachi who had an ice factory and perhaps a business partner of Mr Zardari (then in traditional Balochi dress) himself wrote articles in the Progressive papers for privatization of the papers. This was height of the 'power' a secretary can enjoy.

The monthly return of the PPL suddenly came down because clients rightly thought that either papers were going to be closed down or they might be given to some favourite at a throw away price. The badly-managed National Press Trust under Wajid Shamsul Hasan's whose role was very dubious. He had come from Jang group. He never consulted with the staff of both the papers for future plans.

The strongest union of the newspapers world was not consulted, and Benazir's so-called media party was out to destroy the papers which were dubbed by the rightists and the establishment as “pro-Russian Communists” papers which in 1970 extended all out support to the PPP…Punjab where the PPP emerged in overwhelming majority in NA and the Punjab Assembly while in Sindh Assembly it could not win 50 per cent of its seats.

The area from where the PPP won more than 55 seats was under the influence of the NPT….Lahore and Rawalpindi and Imroze Lahore and Multan. Unfortunately, Benazir Bhutto was under the influence of big feudals and Karachi and Lahore traders and these powerful sections of society were deadly against the socialist views of the PPL, therefore it was thrown in the market. To close the Imroze, Lahore and Multan was the “credit” of Nawaz Sharif's federal government and unfortunately the workers were deprived of their legal rights which were ignored even by the second term of the PPP government which also disposed of the Pakistan Times which now lies in coma.

The only difference between Benazir and Nawaz Sharif was that all legal dues of the PT employees were given by Benazir while Nawaz Sharif deprived the Imroze workers of their pensions rights. The workers requested to all the governments, including Benazir in 1994, but in vain. They knocked at the door of the court and they won the case after ten years but the governments through National Press Trust went in appeal. It was in 2008 when the Information Secretary Ashfaq Gondal committed before Multan High Court bench that the government would pay but the then NPT chairman was reluctant to comply the order.

Gondal changed the chairman but he resisted because he has the backing of some high ups but ultimately he had to hand over the charge to another senior information officer and former journalist Rahat Zafar who first arranged the money and then pension dues were given to the Multan people at the rate of 1996 and committed in the court that according to the formula which applies to government servants the pensioners would be given the balance.

The Lahore pensioners of Imroze won the case a bit later but they were also paid the 15 years dues and monthly pension at the function presided over by Information Minister and Governor Khosa. It became the PPP show and before the function could take off the PPP workers started raising typical slogans as it was a favour show specially on the poor workers.

That annoyed one speaker who snubbed the slogan raisers and said that they do not know anything even about their party and its commitments made in 1967. Their leader in the Punjab Assembly, Raja Riaz, accepted that Benazir was allowed to leave the country after tendering apology to Ziaul Haq which she never did.

A journalist, biographer and spokesman of Bhutto family Mr Bashir Riaz had raised this issue in that day's newspapers. The slogans of the PPP workers antagonized Imroze pensioners. Anyhow, thanks PPP, it could have again showed the pensioners path to the court. But they were happy and all praise for the services of Rahat Zafar who has raised a body The Imroze Pensioners Association with a view to streamline the process of regular payment of pensions, making space for those pensioners also who never went to court and for that the NPT is publicly committed since the pensions were paid to Multan litigants.

Rahat Zafar again asserted that NPT is wedded to its commitment. The pensioners appreciated the services of the chairman and urged the government to let Rahat Zafar complete his wonderful job and fulfill the NPT or the government's commitment in favour of old pensioner.

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Muddasir Iqbal Butt is responsible for holding a 15-day Punjab Mela in Lahore of which some sessions were to be held in the Pilac and the Al-Hamra on The Mall. This year one of the functions to be held at the Pilac was disallowed by DG Ms Fehmida Mushtaq. It was an evening with writer, poet and columnist Dr Ajmal Niazi.

It is said that Muddasir and Wani, Secretary Information, government of Punjab, had some personal feud. But the question is how more than four functions of the Mela were allowed to be held in Al-Hamra of which the last was awards distribution presided over by Fakhar Zaman, his first appearance after many months.

He did not like to speak on the proposed bifurcation of Punjab and Punjabi language. The Punjab Mela is also associated with Baba Fareed Free Hospital being run by Muddasir in Sabzazar.

One function was held for popular actor Sohail Ahmad, the central character of programme Hasb-e-Haal on being decorated with Presidents' Medal for Pride of Performance. An evening was also arranged with Parveen Malik, a short story writer and former editor monthly Mah-i-Nau.

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Parveen Malik is writing her biographical notes in Chhachhi dialect of Punjabi in installments which appear in monthly Saver International. In the last installment appears in the August issue of the magazine, she narrates how the famous election of the Punjab University Students Union between Jahangir Badar's supporters has thrown away the ballot boxes.

Parveen from Attock district had served at the ministry of information and narrates how she herself, Nayyar Abbasi, Sarwat Atiq and others participated in students and political activities. It was here that the late Waris Mir introduced Parveen and Sarwat to Radio producer Syed Islam Shah and he made both of them story writer.

Parveen had already served as the editor of the Attock College magazine Misha'al, revived its publication in 1951 (after partition and before partition it was edited by short story writer Devinder Isar who migrated to Delhi in 1947. Parveen's biography looks like a social history of the common people of Pakistan from 1947 to date. It looks that these notes will prove a fine addition to Punjabi literature.