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PNCA’s art treasure at risk
Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Islamabad is the only national level institution of its kind for preservation and promotion of art. Lately, it has been in troubled waters with interested parties playing their dirty games covertly and overtly. PNCA has a rich art treasure of paintings of noted artists in its permanent collection over the decades.
PNCA Permanent Collection includes 10 paintings of internationally reputed artist Anwar Jalal Shemza who had expired in January 1985. After almost 35 years of his demise, during which there were no claims by his heirs or others, an attempt is now being made with the connivance of the official quarters concerned to hand Shemza’s paintings worth millions of dollars in the international market to his so-called heirs. This amounts to virtually looting the national art treasure and depriving PNCA of some of its precious paintings in its permanent collection for decades together.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s urgent intervention is requested in this matter, which unfortunately involves the names of the Federal Minister concerned and prominent artist and owner of an art gallery in Lahore among others. Both of them are related to each other as cousins. The current PNCA Director General, a lady, is also reported to be supporting the interested parties in securing the precious Shemza paintings possession against all rules and rules and deprive the national art gallery of its art treasure.
Once the paintings are handed over to the so-called heirs of Anwar Jalal Shemza, who were hiding somewhere for all these years, then it will be very impossible and difficult to recover these from their possession. The PM is requested to intervene immediately and save the national art treasure being so looted by the so-called heirs of prominent artist Anwar Jalal Shemza and save PNCA from being deprived of so many paintings out of its Permanent Collection.
OSAMA BIN ASIM
Rawalpindi
*****
It is quite alarming to note that a mischief game is being played at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) these days which urgently needs to be checked forthwith before withering away of the precious national art treasures on one pretext or the other. Anwar Jalal Shemza was a celebrated artist, a well-known writer and poet and had breathed his last on January 18, 1985.
In order to pay tributes to him, PNCA organized an exhibition of his creative art and reportedly borrowed 10 paintings from his family for this purpose. After the exhibition, these paintings were put on PNCA’s Permanent Collection at National Art Gallery where these are still displayed along with art works of number of prominent artists.
During last couple of years or so, according to the information, a crude attempt is being made to return these paintings, which have remained unclaimed for almost three decades, to the heirs of Shemza. This mischief game is being played under the nose of the Federal Culture Minister at the instigation of his Lahore-based well-known artist, former Principal of National College of Arts and owner of an art gallery cousin.
It is pertinent to mention here over the years, Shemza’s art work prices have gone up considerably and this financial interest so involved has apparently prompted all officials, supposed to be the custodians of the national art treasures, to join hands and deprive Pakistan of its highly valuable art treasures thus knowingly or otherwise commit a colossal crime.
How come the heirs of Shemza have suddenly surfaced after more than three decades to claim his artwork at PNCA Permanent Collection without the instigation and encouragement from some big names in the art circles of Pakistan? Who is going to check and stop this ongoing mischief game at the PNCA before it is too late?
M Z RIFAT
Lahore
Pollution in Karachi
Pakistan’s largest city Karachi is under the grip of multifarious pollutions due to lack of government’s environment-friendly policies. The air, marine and noise pollutions are rising with each passing day, as there is no proper check and balance. The city has turned into one of the most polluted city of the country where air, marine and noise pollutions have risen to alarming levels, affecting people’s health. The city is hit by four major types of pollutions – air, water, noise and marine pollutions, which give birth to many other issues in the city.
Air is polluted due to release of smoke, chemicals, and unhygienic particles into the atmosphere. The air of Karachi is highly polluted due to automobiles’ smoke emitted by rickshaws, cars, bikes and buses besides burning of garbage, oven fires and industrial emissions. The air is also massively polluted by liquefied petroleum gas released from automobiles and gaseous pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide etc.
The marine pollution in Karachi has also badly affected fish and prawn production. The seawater has turned poisonous along the city coast and as a result fish and prawn have died, while mangrove forest has also been affected due to this pollution. In many areas, piped water mixes with drain-water. Water is the basic necessity of human life but unfortunately, the residents of Karachi don’t have access to it and that is the main reason that many citizens face stomach, kidney and skin diseases.
ARSLAN KHAN
Karachi
Don’t lose hope
The year 2020 will not be remembered as best of the year as many tragedies happened within a period of seven months. No one knows what would happen next. We can hope for the best in coming days. This year proved to be dreadful year so far. Tragedies started with a bush fire in Australia that killed almost 5 million animals and also including some people as well.
After that, the pandemic COVID-19 spread rapidly in the world and it changed the dynamics of the world politics. Thousands of people have died in this pandemic and still the numbers are rising. Even scores of doctors, who are at the front line to fight this pandemic, died because of COVID-19. Further, many great artist, poets, actors and parliamentarians also lost their lives in this pandemic.
To add more to it, an explosive blast in Beirut, Lebanon brought more miseries for the people there while US-Israel-Iran tension added more fuel to the fire. United Arab Emirates unfortunately also recognised Israel and signed a peace deal. Nevertheless, we should not lose hope from the blessings of Allah.
SHAHZAD PANHWAR
Sukkur, Sindh
