There is definitely a chill in the air after the last downpour. Woollies might have to come out a little early this year. The shops have put their goods on sale with discounts up to fifty percent. And the people are slowly but surely gearing towards Eid mode buying spree.
The first event that I covered was an exhibition of paintings by Naeem Pasha at the Khaas Art Gallery. There are twenty-one exhibits on display comprising drawings and the paintings done mostly in acrylic on canvas. His work shows the originality akin to the artist giving a peep at the creativity with two-dimensional effect-displaying images of colours in folds and crinkles on the canvas. He graphically describes these as 'Silwatein'. The artist describes his work in the following words, "Talking of the process of painting is like describing the moment in which a poem descended or the thematic compulsions of that poem. Somehow this indulgence makes the end less, but I understand the viewers desire to explore the mystique behind it all.
"In the way of explanation if I could say that one is tremendously grateful to see at times intangible realities begin to take shape on the canvas by one's own efforts and begin to make sense. And if some day they begin to grow on you then one could sit back and be counted amongst the image makers.
"The overwhelming desire to express most with the desire to compose and detail almost to the limits of architecture; the wish to think two dimensionally so as to allow the viewer the freedom of the other dimensions and yet be trained to think multi-dimensionally of forever enveloping architectonics of plenty, are the treacherous choices of an 'attai' or a 'be ustada.' This expression of most with least finds meaning for me in forever layering the canvas draws the viewer to choose his/her own details of desirability according to particular moment or mood.
"My desire is to paint the concerns of man and his/her commitment to the times, not in terms of Munto or Chughtai but more in a Faizian sort of way, more hopeful in the possibilities then lost in the predicament of impossibilities. But I find myself forever closer to Munto; I find solace in the confirmation that there is a place in life for lesser mortals."
The second event that I covered was a discussion on 'Present Economic Scenario in Pakistan' initiated by Dr. Mohammad Irfan under the auspices of Islamabad Cultural Forum at the Trust of Voluntary Organisations.Dr. Irfan said that it is being projected by those at the helm of the affairs that Pakistan's economy has been placed on a high growth trajectory partly supported by the data of the last year that the GDP growth was 6% and budget deficit had declined, current account deficit turned into plus and exports were more than the imports.
These were some of the basic macro fundamentals. The discussion was based on the three directions; how this growth has impacted the life of a common man? Can Pakistan continue with this growth momentum? If yes what are the reliable factors? And why should Pakistan continue if it does not have any positive impact on the life of a common man? What are the current trends that appear disturbing and challenges for the policy makers with a possibility that the economy reverts back to the late 90's? The growth recorded in the economic survey last year as stated elsewhere was that the GDP grew at 6%, current account improved and there was massive accumulation in the reserves.
The government claim being that poverty declined 4% point with the independent surveys totally rejecting this notion. According to the Labour Force Survey, the overall unemployment rate is 8.2% that comes to around 4 to 5 million people. Although some facts are peculiar that unemployment rate in the graduates is 9% and among female population, the unemployment rate is very high almost 25% of matriculate and 20% of intermediate females. One fails to understand the current emphasis on human resource development when the government has not been able to productively utilise the graduates both male and female.
The HRD policy and deliverance system should be re-examined in the light of the aforementioned. The statistics suggest that since 1996 to 2001-2002 the real wages in general have declined except in public service sector where it has remained stagnant. When the real wages are declining, the unemployment rate is rising, how can the government claim that it has alleviated poverty. The employment promotion and poverty alleviation is outside the mainframe of the policy thrust. And policy thrust is defined by globalisation and trade liberalisation.
The 6.1% growth was due to the manufacturing industry comprising of cotton textiles and consumer goods such as vehicles, motorcycles and television etc. Therefore, the low interest policy of the government promoted consumerism that is not sustainable on a long-term basis. The basic problem is that the investment rate is very low. According to the economic survey it was 18% last year however when the figures will be revised it would be around 16.5%. The government is targeting over 6% growth rate of the GDP that in other words means that 21% of the GDP at the investment rate is needed. So the problem with the Pakistani planners is that they would like to have Chinese growth rate with Pakistani investment.
In order to boost the investment rate there is a need to re-examine the incentive structure for the savers and at the same time for productive investment. Pakistan in not among the top ten Asian nations receiving the Foreign Direct Investment- FDI. It is being felt that the rupee is under pressure and it has depreciated against the euro and the dollar along with the inflation being on the high side. Elevation of the investment rate is a major policy challenge and to generate the employment rate there has to be an increase in public sector development programmes. Accountability is totally missing with rampant corruption and wastage, leakages in the public sector development programmes.
The rupee is under pressure due to the rising trade deficit and increasing inflation. Due to accelerating inflation the interest rate will tend to rise ending the low interest policy. Low interest regime has translated into consumerism and tremendous speculative activity in real estate. Too many hopes are being pinned on the private sector although less than one third increase in the investment during last year was due to the private sector; the rest was due to PSD.
There are claims that flight of capital is taking place. It might be due to the former or it could be as a result of the misuse of open capital account policy of the government. Inflation is up and is adversely affecting when the government claim is that labour is not a social partner in development but a factor in production prized by the trend of supply and demand. In the scenario of excess labour supply, the real wages will go down and poverty will increase. Power shortage, water shortage and the widespread speculative fever redirects the finance from productive ventures to speculative.
Dollarization is back. In the light of this backdrop, the government needs to reconstrue the investment policy and the circulation of capital so that it helps in improving the life of the common man. In other words, it is required that 6 to 7% of the GDP is transferred to the poor whereas the social safety net has only 1.2 %. There is a tremendous gap and one needs to refocus the economic thrust and look to the situation on ground rather than believe the rosy picture drawn by the policy makers and highlighted by the print/electronic media. The discussion in reference to the major economic issues facing the country was interesting and informative. It gave a comprehensive financial picture of the present situation in Pakistan.
The third event was again a preview of a book of poems titled 'Tulip in Sand Dunes' by Naeem Pasha along with an exhibition of paintings based on the poems in the book by nine artists comprising of Afsar Malik, Anwar Saeed, Aasim Akhtar, Nadeem Waheed, Nazia Khan, Nazish Ataullah, Rahat Saeed, Salima Hashmi and Shehnaz Ismael.The exhibition had the theme of 'Another Dawn' with the following words:
'You scratch the World
There appears a crack
You scratch the crack
There appears a gash
You scratch the gash
There appears a wound
You scratch the wound
There appears a womb
You scratch the womb
And you are born again
Naeem Pasha said that 'This is the first book although I've been writing for the last forty-five years but never dared to print something. I always thought that my daughter after my death would print something like this because I can't bear the shame of what I've written. Every
body said that I should do it and it is a project that the friends started.
This exhibition was conceived about three years ago. It took time to evolve as it involved artists who said that they would work on my poems.' The poems and the paintings are complementary to each other. The spirit and text of the poems is displayed in the paintings. Naeem Pasha has written the poems and has been writing since 1964. These have been published individually in newspapers and literary journals. He gave all tribute to Rahat Saeed for conceiving the book of poems with the Urdu from left to right and the English from right to left coming together in the middle.
Backgrounder on Naeem Pasha is that he is an architect by profession based in Islamabad. And since painting does not put food on the table so whenever the inspiration comes, he paints as a hobby. There are three or four moods in the whole exhibition with one series on desire and there are drawings done with crayons, charcoal and dry brush. The paintings have been done from 1999 to 2004 and there is only one that is thirteen years old.
The week just flew past, as the days keep getting shorter and pleasanter. Life keeps getting busier and interesting. So long till next week.
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