By Dr. Yasmeen Kazi

Yesterday, I went to the Press Club for the launching of Propf. Aijaz Qureshi’s book, The Case of Karachi, translated into English by Abdul Malik Soomro. It is an account of the history of Karachi from 1947 to 1970. It is an interesting, authentic account, supported with documents.
Some of the speakers at the event were economist Kaiser Bengali, Karamat Ali, architect Arif Hasan. They revealed some interesting facts.When Karachi was made the federal capital, a loan was asked from the Sindh Government. M. A. Khuhro was asked to pay Rs. 30 crore at 3 % interest. The amount has not been received yet. In 1960, when One Unit was made, the Sindh government was asked to pay another Rs. 30 crore. That has not been repaid. If Karachi becomes a separate province, Rs. 60 crores will have to be paid to the Sindh government.
Kaiser Bengali said that Thar Coal generates the biggest revenue for the Sindh government, being owned partly by Engro and partly by Sindh government. Karachi as a separate province will be deprived of that. The water supply to Karachi is from the Indus River. If Karachi is separated and water supply is by desalination of sea water, it will cost twelve times as much.
Karamat Ali had some interesting stories to tell. His folks migrated from East Punjab in 1947. He repaeated the story that going through Punjab, the immigrants were told that Pakistan was further ahead until they reached Sindh. He said that when there were riots and massacres in Bihar, G. M. Syed went to Bihar himself to fetch the affectees. He brought them to Karachi and made Bihar Colony for them. Rasool Buksh Palejo and his family waited for the trains to arrive from India and supplied food to the immigrants.
Karamat Ali also mentioned that he had been to Jhirk. He visited the old school there and in the primary school register there, he saw Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s name. He said that Jinnah was born in Jhirk and not in Karachi.