First, he won’t get any license. PPP wants all Sindhis, mostly un-educated and belonging to interior, to do everything. From sweepers to customs officers at port, to PIA’s various GMs, and the President of the god-damn country.

If in case he gets the license, he will do lot of things.

For one, he will not allow CNG rickshaw to remain green for ever. He will turn it into red blood with various slogans and his huge portraits, made white using extra box of talcum powder.

Non-Mohajirs won’t be allowed to sit in his CNG rickshaw. He will only allow Mohajirs to sit behind him (he likes everyone behind him!) He will also not use the traditional peep peep horn. In fact, he will use mulla-style speakers and blare MQM-zindabad slogans as he weaves his way across the city. His CNG Rickshaw will also not look like a CNG Rockshaw but more like a donkey fitted rickshaw. (Most of his party looks like a bunch of donkeys). And his CNG rickshaw will not climb the many idiosyncratic flyovers his assistant, Mr. Mustafa Kamal, has built around the city. So he being Altaf Hussain will flatten most of them much to the determinant of the city and its exploding population.

Altaf Hussain being Altaf Hussain will also not allow Pushtun-run buses to ply the city without harassing them. He will make sure that his red-blood CNG Rickshaw is always parked in front of their mini-buses. He will also try and poke Pushtuns and will try and provoke them. This will cause massive blood-shed in the city and Altaf Hussain being Altaf Hussain would ask all Mohajirs to carry arms so that they may protect themselves from the ‘terrorists’ Pushtuns. Thereafter, all CNG Rickshaws would be snatched at gun-point and other points from other drivers, painted red, with MQM flags installed and Altaf bhai portraits flashing with dark face and elephant white teeth. Then all these red-painted rickshaws will move behind Altaf Bhai’s rickshaw and will stop whenever he gives his comic speech to the millions of bhais and sisters of the city. (Meri behnoon tumhara kia, mein janoon mera Rickshaw janay).

Altaf Hussain is requested to remain in London and die there and not become the CNG Rickshaw driver in the city of Quaid-e-Azam. We can do without Altaf bhai riding the red-blood rickshaw. God Willing.

Mangroves are a wonderful being of ALLAH. They are species of plants which thrive in saline waters. Their roots grow best under fertile land and maybe found at places where deltas are formed due to discharge of river (sweet) water into sea waters (saline). They are important for survival of countless land and sea species and hundreds of thousands of men earn their livelihood through them (fishing, cutting trees, making homes, hunting, etc). Therefore, it is imperative that such wonderful and unique species are preserved for the betterment of people and environment. That’s not happening. From the lead organization:

http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=143

“In Pakistan, mangroves are found along the southern borders of the country along the coast of Sindh and Balochistan. The Indus Delta extends to an area of approximately 600,000 hectares of which 160,000 consists of mangrove forests. These are unique in the sense that they are considered to be the largest area of arid climate mangroves in the world”.

And, further:

“In the Karachi area, 135,000 people depend on the mangroves for their livelihood. For villages surrounding the forests, the mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves (Davis, 1993). In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilograms of leaves and 19.5 million kilograms of grass (Qureshi, 1992). Much of Pakistan’s fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the US$ 100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent (Davis, 1993). Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingoes and herons may be found in the Indus Delta mangroves (IUCN, 1999). Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

“Over the past 13 years, the degradation of Pakistan’s mangroves has occurred at the rate of 6 percent per annum. As a result, only 16 percent of Pakistan’s mangroves are thought to be healthy (Qureshi, 1992). The most harmful environmental stress that the mangroves face today derives largely from human activity. The steady growth of a major industrial city within the vicinity, the untreated sewage and industrial discharge, the increase in the demand for fuel wood, overgrazing and over-exploitation of resources are just a few of the strains on the mangrove’s ecosystem. Steel mills, refineries and power stations are some of the large polluting industries found in the area. Tanneries are perhaps the worst. Their untreated effluents, massively loaded with heavy metals, are being disposed daily into the sea, thereby contaminating the food chain. High concentrations of heavy metal such as lead, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury and cobalt have recently been recorded in marine biota and sediments (Davis, 1993). They are hazardous and poisonous for all forms of life.”

I have a radical idea for Karachi and its citizens. For one, I think KESC is all crap now after Musharraf and company (specially his darling PM, Shaukat) sold this fine organization to a private company for peanuts. No external or internal audit reports have ever been shared with citizens who pay their blood to keep this outfit afloat. Yet it dismisses us all like we are beggars. So, ladies and gentlemen of Karachi, should be burn down KESC? I am sure we should. It is of no use; it fleeces honest men and provides electricity free of cost to VVIPs, VIPs, brothers and sisters of PM; it also does not help when it fails to dis-connect illegal connections; and since last two nights I and my family and millions of others have not slept well. Karachi is in crises and we need someone else to bring us electricity.

By the way, which should be the first KESC office to go down?