The entertainment industry like the rest of the country has gone through a sheer shock and grief over the gory incident of Peshawar.

The cinema and theater owners associations immediately cancelled all activities and cinemas as well as theatres were closed for three days.

Music evenings everywhere were got cancelled while the private production spell taking place in different studios also came to a halt. Both arts councils also cancelled all scheduled entertainment programmes. Celebrities from the showbiz came up with statements and declared the incident shameful, a brazen-faced act and inhuman.

The artistes community, though no date has been decided, is going to hold a condolence reference at Alhamra Art Center, The Mall, where maximum number of artistes would participate and condemn the brutal act of terrorists.

An official said that Alhamra would organize by the end of this week an evening dedicated to students of the Army Public School, Peshawar, where artistes and social workers would pay rich tributes to the martyrs.

After the recent showcasing of the label’s Divine Decadence collection at PLBW 2014, Pakistan’s definitive fashion force Hassan Sheheryar Yasin has been appointed as a member of the Senate of the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design in Lahore.

PIFD’s Senate, comprises over 20 members, is entrusted with the overall governance of PIFD which meets at least twice in a calendar year.

Yasin joins renowned members such as Nayyer Ali Dada, Musarrat Khosa and Dr Ishrat Hussain to name a few in a council headed by the president of Pakistan.

“I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to have been appointed as member of PIFD Senate. The institution will always remain a special part of my journey as a fashion couturier. I hope that my experience and contribution to the industry will greatly aid me in playing a positive role for the council,” said Yasin.

The PIFD is a specialized design institute, seeking to produce graduates who are able to combine design capability with manufacturing dexterity to create products that are functional and aesthetically appealing.

It also equips the students with necessary management and marketing tools in order to promote these products in markets around the world.

In his years of fashion, HSY’s pioneering role has been of significant influence, working to shape the course of the Pakistani fashion industry and to create new professional benchmarks through his fashion design, innovative fashion marketing and promotion.

With his representation in the Senate of PIFD, he again looks to create new benchmarks for fashion fraternity in Pakistan.

Ameeting of faculty, staff and students of the National College of Arts (NCA) was held at the Shakir Ali Auditorium regarding the Peshawar incident in which 140 students and teachers were killed.

During his speech, NCA Principal Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri said: “We condemn this cruel act perpetrated by terrorists. We and all the Pakistani nation are with the families of martyred students and teachers.”

Dr Jafri urged the students to convey the message of peace all over the world through their paintings and writings.

Pakistani-American author Soniah Kamal launched her debut novel “An Isolated Incident”. A saga of loss, love and survival set in Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan and America.

The novel explores how to survive the most devastating losses of all -- the loss of family and ideals. More than 20 years in the making, Soniah conceived the idea in her youth. She took the next several years to develop the story, and she finally began to write it after promising her late Kashmiri grandfather that she would write about Kashmir.

An Isolated Incident is the story of Zari Zoon, a young woman refugee from Indian Kashmir, who has come to the United States after a devastating tragedy to live with a distant uncle and his son, nineteen-year-old Billy.

About her novel, Soniah Kamal says: “I wanted to explore the role of silence. As for inspiration -- the maternal side of my family is from Srinagar and one summer, relatives visiting Lahore related how difficult life in Kashmir was (at the time) and that a late night knock could very well mean death or even worse.”

Published in Dawn December 21th , 2014

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...