MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013
THE SPOKESMAN
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What is contemporary art in Pakistan? Whether traditional art practitioners or the cool conceptualists, artists in Pakistan need to question, experiment and explore art practice for their work to be informed of its history and challenge the present to be considered contemporary
ABDULLAH QURESHI
Selling education in the UK Since pecuniary interests have taken over the domain of education in the UK, several concerns of overseas students, particulalry Pakistani students, have come to the fore. While Pakistani students prefer to embellish their qualifications by getting at least one post-graduate degree from a top ranking university of the UK, a rat race is going on amongst the universities to invite a large number of overseas students each year to meet their financial earning targets. Resultantly, a gap is appearing between what is claimed by a univesity through its colouorful brochures and booklets and what the university can offer on the ground. Legal lacunas existing in the bylaws of UK’s universities add fuel to the fire. The British High Commission that gathers millions of rupees every year in the name of the student visa fee, whether an application is accepted or rejected, cannot be exonerated from responsibility. The British Council which is also mandated to establish a people-to-people contact between the UK and Pakistan should also share its responsibility, if not the blame. The council holds regular education fairs in Pakistan’s major cities and advertises heavily in the Pakistani media to attract Pakistani students to study in the UK , but it refuses to take responsibility for ensuring that the students land up in credible universities rather than a plethora of scam institutions that are flourishing in the UK right under the nose of the British government. There is virtually no body or platform available in Pakistan which protects the interests of Pakistani students seeking quality education in the UK once they get enrolled. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is the first body that should show its concern in this regard and come up with plausible suggestions to tackle the problem. The HEC should blacklist UK’s universities that exploit Pakistani students or construct bylaws that go against the academic and research interests of overseas Pakistani students. The Pakistan High Commission and Consulates in the UK should also be given a formal responsibility for taking care of Pakistani students studying in the UK’s universities and provide them assistance in taking action against malpractice and fraud in British educational instituties. The complaints of Pakistani students with the academic and research standards of these universities militates against the rationale of the existence of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education in the UK. Currently, Pakistani overseas students are on their own to protect their interests, which is not possible for them due to a lack of awareness about their rights under British law and also due to the cumbersome procedures they must go through to follow up their complaints and have them redressed. Overseas students (and their parents) should not be left to think that they were hoodwinked into joining a course and then left with no other option but to submit to whatever is being given to them – just because the university happens to be in the UK. The field of education should not be left to the goodwill of the business sector, whether the country is the UK or Pakistan. This also applies to the rapidly flourishing education sector in Pakistan which heavily relies on the factor of earning money and issuing statements and claims which cannot be met in reality.
in its broadest sense, is everywhere but like all fields this one must also The ninth ‘Young Artists’ Exhibition’ have parameters. So I guess I am interested in contemporary art, art opened at Alhamra Art Gallery in Lahore on 8 March. It is important to that is critically engaging, aware of its appreciate the efforts of Alhamra, an history and challenges the present. arts council space that was previously So when you walk around an renowned for its empty halls, to take exhibition of young artists and the majority consists of compositional such an initiative. The change is exercises and thematic work that noticeable since the current curator, really goes nowhere, you would also Tanya Suhail, took over the gallery. She spearheaded this mammoth task be bothered. I feel the thing lacking most is a to bring forward art representative of our youth. It is also worth noting that clear definition of what we mean by the word “young”. Are we taking no other exhibition in the country about age or do we mean fresh ideas? truly surveys young artists’ on a Without a clear set of rules, there will nationwide scale. be no improvement. From among And yet, when I walk around students and recent graduates you ‘Memoirs of the Future’, as the show occasionally meet people who have is called, I am disappointed. Why? Because I feel this platform is capable shown a lot. The sheer amount of art overwhelms you. If there is work that of doing so much more and in that sense falls short. Regular shows of this sort for nearly a decade should have turned this annual exhibition into a powerful institution in its own right. Unfortunately, it has regressed. Partly, the reason is the use of a celebratory approach to art-making as an excuse for lack of critical discourse in Pakistan. Every form of artistic activity seems to be a milestone. The belief that because we suffer so much on a daily basis creative expression in this country is close to being miraculous. Ironically, in history it has been uncertain times that have resulted in the greatest art critically engages, it is overshadowed the world has known. For example, by the multitudes of “class the Dada movement was conceived assignments”. I was told exceptions as a reaction to the atrocities of the are made for people coming from First World War. Hence, it is not surprising at all that art comes out of areas suffering from lack of exposure. I agree with that but feel that, over Pakistan. It is a region that is the years, they should have been incredibly rich in terms of history encouraged to increase that exposure. and has been significant also in Clearly, that has not been done. This recent times. Our people, and especially artists, are in no way short justification might have been valid when the initial idea was conceived. of subject matter. Despite this, what Now it has become a case of allowing we see is a limited amount of mediocrity pass by as the general understanding, exploration and standard to art-making. The bar experimentation. must be raised. I felt sadness at the show because If we expand this discussion and these fresh minds that are a vital see contemporary art as what is asset to our country’s future had an happening now, then wouldn’t what underexposed sense of what art was. we see at Alhamra also be considered This is where I stopped because I contemporary? In a recent interview wondered, could it be that we are I conducted with one of the directors talking about a different art? I questioned myself, what is art which, of Art Dubai, an Indian historian of
redundant but it would be fair to say that the new is also not so new any longer. So the vision that changed Pakistani art can now be considered outdated. There is a boom, internationally Pakistani artists are more in demand and locally we see multitudes entering the field. New exhibitions open almost every week. My only concern is that unless we are engaging critically and addressing the right questions, this process will stagnate, as has often been the case with many of our artists. I do believe that our traditionalists are as relevant to our history and debates as is currently, let’s say, Rashid Rana. Whether we agree with their practices is a secondary issue. The way forward is in fact to reflect on our history. To re-examine what has been written and question those who wrote it. This is what our future artists should be doing vocally and visually. I feel we need to transcend location-based issues and become part of global discussions. We need to devise ways to make the kind of criticality we showcase abroad more home grown. Instead of seeing the same old names travelling out of the country, more young people should be encouraged to exhibit abroad. A classic example is Waqas Khan, since graduating in 2008, he has independently been exhibiting in international galleries and art fairs. Now Khan has been shortlisted for hypothesis is that there is a strong the prestigious Jameel Prize at the divide in the way our art has been locally cultivated. Different ideologies Victoria and Albert Museum. As long as we see fresh voices being have developed simultaneously. introduced into our otherwise There is what I call the incestuous art scene, we know we’re “traditionalists” and then those who headed in the right direction. consider themselves Concluding with the words of “contemporaries” or representatives Savita Apte, ‘Critical discourse and of the “new”. documentation are key factors in The likes of Khalid Iqbal, Saeed assuring the continued Akhtar, Jamil Naqsh, Iqbal Hussain development and access to art would fall in the category of the traditionalists. The new, I consider a produced in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region’. movement really, promoted by Salima Hashmi if not in fact initiated Hopefully, through this dialogue we can ensure improvement in the by her. Artists influenced by her are producing work that is mostly socio- young artists’ exhibition and see political but not critically engaging in more challenging activities at home. practices that draw from content ABDULLAH QURESHI rooted here. Moreover, these proponents of “the new” believe they THE WRITER IS AN ARTIST AND have made the traditionalist PROPRIETOR OF GALLERY 39-K modern and contemporary art, Savita Apte, explained what contemporary meant to her. The definition of Contemporary Art, apart from a purely temporal aspect, is so diffuse but, she continued, ‘I would say, it is art that has been produced in this century rather than in the last. Art that is produced by artists who are democratic in their choices, so that medium relates to content and content relates to their own life experiences’. If we compare the artistic activity going on in Pakistan to its representation abroad there is a drastic difference. Outside the country, it appears that we are critically active and progressing to new ideas but on ground in Pakistan, that is really not the situation. My
These proponents of “the new” believe they have made the traditionalist redundant, but it would be fair to say that the new is also not so new any longer. So the vision that changed Pakistani art can now be considered outdated
Syrian human rights front is EU-funded fraud TONY CARTALUCCI In reality, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has long ago been exposed as an absurd propaganda front operated by Rami Abdul Rahman out of his house in England's countryside. According to a December 2011 Reuters article titled, "Coventry - an unlikely home to prominent Syria activist", Abdul Rahman admits he is a member of the socalled "Syrian opposition" and seeks the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad: After three short spells in prison in Syria for pro-democracy activism, Abdulrahman came to Britain in 2000 fearing a longer, fourth jail term. ‘I came to Britain the day Hafez al-Assad died, and I'll return when Bashar al-Assad goes’, Abdulrahman said, referring to Bashar's father and his predecessor. One could not fathom a more unreliable, compromised, biased source of information, yet for the past two years, his "Observatory" has served as the sole source of information for the endless torrent of propaganda emanating from the Western media. Perhaps worst of all, is that the United Nations uses this compromised, absurdly overt source of propaganda as the basis for its various reports - at least, that
Despite its central role in the savage civil war in Syria, the grandly named Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is virtually a one-man band. Its founder, Rami Abdul Rahman, 42, who fled Syria 13 years ago, operates out of a semidetached red-brick house on an ordinary residential street in the drab industrial city of Coventry in England is what the New York Times now claims in their recent article, "A Very Busy Man Behind the Syrian Civil War’s Casualty Count." The NYT piece admits: Military analysts in Washington follow its body counts of Syrian and rebel soldiers to gauge the course of the war. The United Nations and human rights organisations scour its descriptions of civilian killings for evidence in possible war crimes trials. Major news organisations, including this one, cite its casualty figures. Yet, despite its central role in the savage civil war, the grandly named Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is virtually a one-man band. Its founder, Rami Abdul Rahman, 42, who fled Syria 13 years ago, operates out of a semidetached red-brick house on an ordinary residential street in this drab industrial city [Coventry, England]. The New York Times also for the first time reveals that Abdul Rahman's operation is indeed funded by the
we remain indifferent. A population of more than 180 million can handle a few hundreds, maybe a few thousands of lawbreakers, if they want to. It is high time we unite and stand against oppression. We need to get out of our houses on the election day to make a right choice and cast our votes, accordingly. We need to stop discriminating between the social classes and the ethnicity so we may progress ahead. We need to take a stand, change ourselves in order to bring the change in our country.
We must vote! The air of indifference in Pakistan is pathetic. We either close our eyes, or delude ourselves into thinking that it won’t matter to us. We have social workers such as Parveen Rehman and Malala Yusufzai being targeted, communities being terrorised, scholars getting killed, drone attacks happening and economy failing. Nothing and nobody except the privileged few are safe or protected, yet
AREESHA MAZHAR LAHORE
Feedback from the web
Benazir and Zardari killed Bhutto Bhutto might be dead in the Punjab because Punjabis have do not have some needs like "Roti ,Kapra, Makaan" but in Sindh he is still lives
European Union and a "European country" he refuses to identify: Money from two dress shops covers his minimal needs for reporting on the conflict, along with small subsidies from the European Union and one European country that he declines to identify. And while Abdul Rahman refuses to identify that "European country," it is beyond doubt that it is the United Kingdom itself - as Abdul Rahman has direct access to the Foreign Secretary William Hague, who he has been documented meeting in person on multiple occasions at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. The NYT in fact reveals that it was the British government that first relocated Abdul Rahman to Coventry, England after he fled Syria over a decade ago because of his antigovernment activities: When two associates were arrested in 2000, he fled the country, paying a human trafficker to smuggle him into England. The government resettled him in Coventry,
because Sindhis, after suffering so many deprivations and miseries, still believe in strong bonds of love "’ Till death do us part’." SANA BALOCH
PTI Mess Shah Mahmood Qureshi is contesting from four constituencies this time; two on PTI’s ticket and two as an independent. Imran Khan knows this and has allowed him to do so. He is fighting independently in Sindh only to take advantage of the political scenario in Umerkot and Tharparkar. Shah has many mureed there. He is likely to make a seat adjustment with Pir Pagara and Arbab Ghulam Raheem in order to win from those two seats and get a third seat for PTI from Ghotki as well. I think this ploy is so that Shah Mahmood as a leader of Ghausia Jamaat makes an adjustment with Pagara on a personal level thus saving PTI from any scenario where
where he decided he liked the slow pace. Abdul Rahman is not a "human rights activist." He is a paid propagandist. He is no different than the troupe of unsavory, willful liars and traitors provided refuge in Washington and London during the Iraq war and the West's more recent debauchery in Libya, for the sole purpose of supplying Western governments with a constant din of propaganda and intentionally falsified intelligence reports designed specifically to justify the West's hegemonic designs. Abdul Rahman's contemporaries include the notorious Iraqi defector Rafid alJanabi, codename "Curveball," who now gloats publicly that he invented accusations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the West's casus belli for a 10 year war that ultimately cost over a million lives, including thousands of Western troops, and has left Iraq still to this day in shambles. There's also the lesser known Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir of Libya, who formed the foundation of the pro-West human
the party has to have make any seat adjustment with PML (F). In any case, if Shah wins from Umerkot and Tharparkar and as an independent candidate, PTI has nothing to lose, it will only gain. This is a purely political tactic.
rights racket in Benghazi and now openly brags in retrospect that tales of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's atrocities against the Libyan people were likewise invented to give NATO its sought-after impetus to intervene militarily. Unlike in Iraq and Libya, the West has failed categorically to sell military intervention in Syria, and even its covert war has begun to unravel as the public becomes increasingly aware that the socalled "pro-democracy rebels" the West has been arming for years are in fact sectarian extremists fighting under the banner of Al Qaeda. The charade that is the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" is also unraveling. It is unlikely that the New York Times' limited hangout will convince readers that Rami Abdul Rahman is anything other than another "Curveball" helping the corporate-financier elite of Wall Street and London sell another unnecessary war to the public.
judges; - a far graver crime than the sacking of an elected government which was condoned by the judiciary? Article 6 has put the court in a difficult situation. These are indeed testing times for the honourable judges of the apex court.
SALMAN
Mush gets SC breather The apex court has to tread with caution. It is the aggrieved party in the case and has been forced by circumstances to sit on judgment. Musharraf, a political nobody, is totally isolated and roundly humiliated. The so-called forces of “the rule of law” are out to get him. But in this charged atmosphere of revenge, the court has to take stock of the circumstances. Was Musharraf a lone-ranger or was he supported by the entire government machinery in imposing emergency rule? Did this emergency rule result in sacking of
PASSIVE VOICES
Shah Mahmood Qureshi—duped I have enjoyed this piece on Shah Mahmood Quershi. The venom is filled to the brims and over flowing, inundating everything in the way. The grizzly bear and pop-eyed buffoon loved to tango with Hillary, who ditched him. She used his idiotic buffoon-style and wordy dialogues. She was not impressed by him but he thought so. This poor man from Multan has lived a life of luxury on the alms of charitable endowments. He looks like a goof and acts like a goof. How
(PRESSTV.IR)
can someone want to have him as a friend is beyond belief. He can open a circus and have his own show with a grizzly bear. He could live on the money earned by the bear.
Treason nightmares disturb Mush family
JB
Musharraf has done more for Pakistan than any of the elected politicians. His term in office was a period of economic growth for Pakistan. My sympathies and best wishes are with him. I understand that he has to face a pack of a carnivorous scavenging Hyenas. He is not likely to get justice as the "Naraz Collaborators " would like to give him a finishing blow before December 2013. A J KHAN
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