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KARACHI, Aug 5: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Sunday asked the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, to widen its range so that a greater number of citizens could benefit from cultural activities.
He was speaking at a reception hosted for him by the Arts Council after visiting the Koocha-i-Saqafat.
Koocha-i-Saqafat, the city’s weekly cultural extravaganza, resumed on Sunday after an absence of six weeks due to unfavourable weather conditions and the law and order situation.
The nazim appealed to the citizens of the metropolis to own Karachi and make it the most peaceful and cleanest city of the world.
“Let’s own Karachi as our city; let’s own Karachi together,” the city nazim said.
He asked the Arts Council’s hierarchy to widen its scope and make it an institution for a larger segment of society so that people could know about culture and a sense of participation could be developed in the masses by depicting the lives and social problems of the people in events and exhibitions.
“The events and exhibitions should not be made exclusive for a certain segment of society.
“The life and participation of our people, particularly those (communities) who have been living here for centuries, should be highlighted in the events and exhibitions of the Arts Council.
“Being the representative body of Karachi’s cultural scene its responsibility is far greater than what it is doing at present,” he said.
Mr Kamal, who handed a cheque of Rs2 million from the city government to the Arts Council, said the money was not a donation but an investment on the part of the city government to banish extremism from society.
“Encouraging cultural activities and prioritising culture is a great tool to minimise extremist thinking from society and we could invest more money to achieve this goal,” he said.
He said extremists cause colossal damage to the life and property of the people thus an investment in culture was essential to prevent this damage.
He said the Arts Council should become a place where people from every class and sphere could participate. He referred to the example of Bagh Ibne Qasim, where, he said, people from a cross-section of society came for recreation with a sense of togetherness.
He said he wanted to see the Arts Council as a self-sufficient institution and added the city government was committed to do everything for its uplift and extension so that in future it did not need any donations from the government.
“All the projects of the Arts Council which (have been) halted will (continue) soon,” said Mr Kamal.
Masood Hashmi, Vice-President of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, also spoke on the occasion.
