Civil society members express concern over ‘shutdown’ of exhibit on Rao Anwar at Karachi Biennale – Pakistan

An installation titled & # 39; Killing Fields of Karachi & # 39; by the artist Adeela Suleman that was exhibited at the iconic Karachi Frere Hall as part of the 2019 Karachi Biennial was "forcefully closed" on Sunday, allegedly by law enforcement agencies.

The lower room of the building, where part of the exhibition was exhibited, has been sealed, reliable sources confirmed to Dawn.com.

The lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir and other members of civil society held a press conference to talk about the removal of the screen.

Nasir said that part of the exhibition was a video installation that showed Naqeebullah Mehsud's father and the scene where Naqeebullah was killed.

Naqeebullah Mehsud, an aspiring model and trader from southern Waziristan, and others were killed in a fake police meeting, led by former SSP Malir Rao Anwar, in Karachi in 2018.

"You all must have seen pillars installed here that symbolize the bloody history of Karachi: the 444 murders committed between 2011 and 2018 by Rao Anwar. This is not a dispute. This is a fact that is part of the police record," he said. Nasir at the Sunday press conference.

"Here there are graves that mark the deaths and there was a video projection that contained images of Naqeebullah's father, and images of the place where Naqeebullah and three others were killed.

"At 11 in the morning, some people came who presented themselves as belonging to sensitive organizations and said that this room should be locked and locked, otherwise all materials, laptops, projectors, paintings, will be destroyed."

Nasir alleged that Frere Hall staff was threatened and that the guard was sent by the men who had assaulted the place.

The artist Adeela Suleman said Dawn which was available at the video show site when certain people were seen asking about it.

Suleman, who is an associate professor and head of the Department of Fine Arts at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, said two people in civilian clothes appeared around 10 a.m. and "pressurized" the Frere Hall administration to stop the exhibition. otherwise, they would stop him by force.

The artist said that individuals in civilian clothes did not speak directly with her.

Separately, he confirmed to the media that the lower room / room where the video exhibition was being exhibited has been sealed. The artist revealed that her works of art / paintings were available outside the room.

When asked who the people were, she replied: "I really don't know."

Addressing the press conference, to talk about the closing of his exhibition, he said: "My goal was just to tell a story. In fact, I was repeating an event that took place a year earlier."

"That [the display] it did not contain such a thing that it was no longer part of the general public knowledge, "she said, visibly upset.

"If artists cannot express themselves in their own way, then I really cannot say how we are going to have any art creation and from whom we will have to ask permission."

Dawn.com has contacted the organizers for a comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, DIG South Sharjeel Kharal said Dawn.com, "We have not received any complaints from artists or organizers formally or informally about [the matter]".

"This thing has been notified and we are investigating it," added the chief of the South Zone police.

Another police officer, who wished not to be identified, said Dawn that there was no police role in closing or stopping the art exhibition.

Press conference interrupted

The press conference was also "interrupted" by "unknown men who threw the microphones out of the media and tried to blame us blatantly," Nasir said in a Twitter post.

A video snippet from the press conference shows that Nasir was interrupted by a man who later introduced himself as DG (CEO) Parks.

"Go do what you want to do out of here," said the man.

Given this, Nasir refused to yield. "I will not go from here. You have no authority to tell me to do it," he said.

After exchanging a few more words, the man warned Nasir to "not force him [to take action]"to which Nasir replied:" Please, sir. You are a nobody. "

"I am DG Parks," said the man.

Nasir said that, like DG Parks, the fundamental work of man, who did not name himself at Nasir's request, is "to conduct an investigation into the corruption of Rs 2 billion" from his predecessor.

"You should be ashamed," Nasir said, adding that instead of conducting an investigation in his own department, the man was interfering with the press conference.

Social networks call attention to closure

The closing of the screen gained popularity in social networks, and several Twitter users also reported on the matter.

Journalist Mubashir Zaidi, who was one of the first to call attention to the incident, said police personnel were "raiding the Karachi Biennial in Frere Hall. […] to stop and eliminate the artistic production of Adeela Suleman & # 39; Killing fields of Karachi & # 39; that describes the story of Rao Anwar's 444 murders. "

"Trucks and men have descended all over Frere Hall. The lower room has been sealed," he said in a Twitter post around 1:15 pm.

Human rights activist Nazish Brohi said the "video installation" had been sealed by "security agencies."

"Murders are not the problem, representation is," he said of the development.

The sociology professor of the Institute of Administration Sciences of Lahore (LUMS), Nida Kirmani, also took Twitter to share photos of the installation "as an act of solidarity" with the artist and the "resistance" against its "closure by of the LEA ".

The installation title – & # 39; Killing Fields of Karachi & # 39; – is similar to that of a Dawn The research report titled & # 39; Dawn Investigations: Rao Anwar and the Karachi Death Camps & # 39; published in March, it explored the type of law enforcement system that accommodates and protects police such as Rao Anwar.

"Until the murder of Naqeebullah, the alleged Sindh encounter specialist had not faced any investigation into the number of murders under his belt." Not a single investigation, despite having killed at least 444 people between 2011 and 2018, according to the police. records Not a single policeman was injured, much less killed, during the 745 meetings, "the report said.