November 10, 2006	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

LAHORE, Nov 9: Functions like World Performing Arts Festival are necessary to project the soft image of Pakistan, which the government is also trying to promote, said Gen Pervez Musharraf here on Thursday.

Inaugurating the Festival by Rafi Pir Theater, the president said the government was trying its best to promote art and soft image of Pakistan. The private sector should also contribute its share in this endeavour, he added.

He said such functions make multicultural exchanges possible, which in turn resulted in better understanding of each other and helped promote peace. The festival had brought together 700 artists from 40 countries. One could imagine the cultural richness of the event, and that is what government wanted to promote.

Gen Musharraf said a huge monument was being constructed at the Zero Point, Islamabad, which would mirror life in all four provinces of the country. The foreign dignitaries did not have to go to far-flung places in the country to experience life there. In addition to housing belongings of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal, the biggest monument of all would be Bab-i-Pakistan, which should be ready in the next two years. All these steps showed government’s concern for preserving heritage and promoting culture, he said.

The government was doing whatever it could, now it was up to private sector to carry forward the process, he said. Organisations like Rafi Pir Theatre must come forward to promote art and the government would facilitate all of them in this regard, he added.

He said the government had also decided to hold such festivals in Islamabad to bring more colour to the life in capital. Some extremists were trying to portray that such activities clashed with the religion, he said and added that was a totally wrong perception. “Islam does instruct us to promote art and peace and it would be done come what may,” he emphasised.