``I can live under martial law. I survived 12 years of repression and censorship under Gen Zia ul Haq. But if the Shariah bill is passed, I'll leave the country,'' says a prominent TV and theatre actor in this Pakistani city.

The actor doesn't want to be named. Criticism of the 15th constitutional amendment or Shariah bill has been deemed anti-national by the government. And religious extremists in Pakistan have gone as far as urging their supporters to ``kill'' those who oppose it. In Peshawar last month, Maulana Sufi Mohammad of Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariat urged his followers to launch a crusade against journalists, whom he called kafir or infidels. ``Theyare ridiculing the enforcement of Shariah Kill them on sight''.

The controversial bill, which now awaits senate clearance during a special three-day session from yesterday, was introduced in August by prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was desperate to save his government as the country teetered on the brink of economic collapse after conducting nuclear tests in May.

Sharif has played more and more into the hands of the religious right, a tactic commonly adopted by floundering governments in Pakistan including Zia ul Haq.

The government's decision to ``make the Holy Quran and Sunnah (Islamic traditions) the supreme law of Pakistan'' has alarmed liberals, and almost caused the cancellation of the privately-organised international puppet festival, a biennial extravaganza staged in Lahore since 1992.

``Previously we didn't have to plead with participants to come,'' said Faizaan Peerzada, festival director and well known puppeteer, the youngest member of the family which organises the festival. ``We had todouble security at the festival premises, and send detailed letters to each participant.'' But eventually, as many as 38 troupes from 27 countries, including India, participated. Last minute cancellations only came from the US, Sweden and Iran the first two were asked not to travel to Pakistan by their governments, while Islamabad refused visas to 19 Iranian puppeteers saying it could not guarantee their security.

``That was a big setback for us,'' explained Faizaan, ``Especially the Iranians not turning up. Not only are they very close to us culturally, but their puppetry is very advanced.''

The festival, however, passed off peacefully, with thousands of children, women and men flocking to the 20 shows daily, each costing only 30 rupees per person. ``In a society where it is in any case not easy to do festivals like this due to so many improbables, it has become even harder in these difficult times due to shrinking economic activity and the country's battered image,'' commented Sarwat Ali, a leadingcultural reviewer based in Lahore. ``It is imperative that such activity be allowed to flourish in Pakistan if we are still to be counted as part of the civilised world,'' he added.

Only in a few instances has the government willingly patronised the independent arts and entertainment movement. Even then it has been the efforts of a few daring individuals like feminist poet Kishwar Naheed, who was director of the Pakistan National Council of Arts.

During her three-year tenure - cut short two months ago because she refused to succumb to official pressure - she breathed new life into the government-run institution and organised several festivals of the performing arts despite the lack of government policies and grants for culture.

The Sharif government's swing to the right has dashed hopes of a revival of official interest in the arts. The Islamisation bill was voted through the National Assembly. The opposition is unlikely to allow it to become law in the senate. Said Peerzada of the Rafi Peer Theatreworkshop, a private family-run enterprise, ``The very fact that it was proposed at all confirmed the fears of many people that this area was being Talibanised, given the situation in the region and the tension between Afghanistan and Iran.''

According to him, the international puppet festival was ``good for Pakistan's image'' with most performers, almost all first-time visitors to the country, surprised by the friendliness and openness they experienced here, a far cry from the close-minded, violent society they had expected.