THE agitation against the Vietnam War in Karachi was heating up. After the pressmen`s boycott due to the arrest of a journalist during a protest rally near the US consulate (as mentioned last week), on May 23, 1972 this newspaper reported that on May 22, the police resorted to mild lathicharge when over 100 students pulled down the American flag and tried to hoist the Vietcong flag on the US chancery.

At least six students, including a girl, received minor injuries and another six were detained but were let off later. The National Students Federation (NSF-Kazmi group) and the Pakhtoon Students Federation (PSF) earlier took out a procession from Regal Bus Stand parading the city streets, shouting slogans in support of the Vietnamese people.

Upon reaching Metropole Hotel they were stopped by the police but the students managed to race to the chancery after breaking the police cordon.

On May 24, in a statement, Wahid Bashir, organising secretary of the Mazdoor Federation, Sindh, expressed shock at President Z A Bhutto`s criticism of theKarachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), which was responsible for water supply, blamed the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) the bulk supplier for low pressure in the mains.

The worst affected localities were Nazimabad and PECHS Block 2. Residents of Nazimabad claimed that they hadn`t experienced such acute shortage since 1958.

All said and done, Karachi`s cultural face refused to lose its lustre no matter what as is the case in the 21st century, too. On May 23, weII-known artist Ahmed Parvez celebrated 25 years of his life in art by holding an exhibition of his paintings at the Arts Council. A critic writing for Dawn paid tribute to his creativity in the following words: `A creative artist, he has chosen watercolour as his field, and rightly so for he is unbeatable there. Flowers are still his favourite, and he plays with them in infinite ways, producing paintings which are outstanding for their tone and content. His point of strength is his full blooded abstraction and his anti-classical spirit which distinguishes him from his contemporaries. He is one artist who has been a victim of neglect and has consequently suffered in many ways. But it is encouraging to see him fighting his way out with such excellent works.`