THIS IS MY STORY—52
MY JOURNEY THROUGH THE ERA OF AYUB KHAN TO THE TIMES OF IMRAN KHAN.
GHULAM AKBAR
After The Arrests
The News Editor Amin Rahat Chughtai and his deputy Mahboob Ali Khan were not in favour of publishing Chapta’s report and wanted the government version to be preferred. I put my foot down. I also made sure that Aali Rizvi the Editor was not consulted because I knew he would go all out to block the report.
The news appeared prominently in the morning. And I have already narrated its consequences at the start.
Had Chapta acted under a secret deal with Daily Mashriq which required some necessary open space to fill? This was a popular view among the Kohistan people, but my heart wasn’t prepared to accept that Enayatullah Sahib could resort to such a deplorable act.
There was another theory too. Had Chapta been planted in Kohistan by the Jang management for this kind of sabotage?
This view was hypothetical. But there was some circumstantial evidence in its favour. Chapta disappeared after that night and months later when he surfaced, he was associated with the Jang group as he had been before Enayat Sahib had acquired his services for Daily Kohistan.
I had a great load of guilt to carry on my mind in the weeks that followed.
I remember my tears as I witnessed Mamoon Jan, Sheikh Hamid Mahmood and Aali Rizvi being presented in the court the day after their arrest. I distinctly remember Amin Rahat Chughtai crying like a child. He was a real gentlemen, and when I last met him after his Kohistan days, he was Public Relations Officer in the Japanese Embassy.
Some of my tension was reduced when Mamoon Jan hugged me affectionately on coming out from the court. Sheikh Hamid Mahmood also had a brave smile.
“I want you to leave for Karachi immediately,” he instructed me. “You will have three tasks to do. One, persuade the APNS to protest against the government action. Two, damage control in the face of Mashriq’s propaganda in the advertising market. And three, to make hectic efforts for maximum collections to counter any possible, financial crisis”.
