Leading Pak artistes oppose curbs on travelling to India

The move will take Pakistan back to the era of late military ruler Zia-ul-Haq,when such NOCs were the norm,the artists said. It is also disappointing that the Pakistan People’s Party-led government was behind the move,they said.

Gauhar,who heads the well-known Ajoka Theatre group and regularly visits India,said: “We find this announcement retrogressive,repressive,arbitrary and a violation of the fundamental rights protected by the Constitution. The government has absolutely no right to restrict the movement of persons who are not even employed by it.”

“The declaration clearly lacks any rationale and is patently mala fide. We therefore defy it,as all void orders lacking legal basis should be dealt with. We also reserve the right to agitate this matter before the Supreme Court for enforcement of our fundamental rights,” she said.

Gauhar described the government’s decision as a “totally undemocratic move”. She added: “We shall move the Supreme Court after consultations with lawyers.”

Journalists too should be part of the struggle the artistes would wage as they had been asked to obtain NOCs for travelling abroad,Gauhar said.

The announcement was like a “flashback to the Zia regime when artistes were hostage to NOCs”,she added.

Ahmed and Pirzada said artistes were the ambassadors of Pakistan and they always strived to bring a good name to the country.

Playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed said artistes,being the representatives of culture and heritage,travelled and performed abroad as part of a global cultural panorama.

He said the restriction imposed by the government would be understandable if it was applied only in some individual cases but its “general application to the entire fraternity was beyond any rationale”.