Chiselling away impurities

By Syed Hassan Ali

Carving out images to life is not an easy task, but for some young artists who exhibited their sculptures last week, it didn’t seem very difficult either. From fibreglass to terracotta, wood and white cement, each material was distinctively chosen to suit the figures and their subjects that were put on display.

The Russian Science and Culture Centre (Friendship House), which has been hosting a variety of cultural activities for five decades in the city, offered its premises free of cost to the sculptors for the exhibition. The group show that remained open round the week ended here on Sunday.

Four large-sized relief sculptures in fibreglass by Saqib Jamal have one thing in common: all their figures are dancing. “The world looks to me in motion as if it has been placed on a dancing board. Everyone is running away from love, beauty and nature,” he says, describing his subject as naach. By using figures from different backgrounds, the young sculptor, a graduate of the Central Institute of Art and Craft, perhaps has tried to make the point that cultures do not make any difference when it’s about ‘the dance.’

The impassive face and the one with sad expressions depicting the growing despondency in the world are put up by Saleem Raza, an NCA graduate and currently teaching the art of sculpture at the Sadequain Institute. He has given a refined look to the wood that he used to express his subject. His small sculptures are equally impressive as he has skilfully used terracotta to perfect the heart-rending figures in desperate plight.

The very emblem of declining human values is two big and three small sculptures of limbs. Using mixed media for her artwork, Kanwal Khattak Khan – through big and strong to small and weak limbs in series – epitomizes the regression of mankind. An alumna of the Arts Council of Pakistan, the young sculptor says she does not want to compromise the art for the sake of commercialism. “See, one may not like to decorate his home with this ugly face of society,” says Ms Khan while referring to her sculptures and adds “these are my true feelings and I have not compromised on them.”

Shahid Hussain, who could not attend the exhibition for personal reasons, is represented by his four sculptures of a woman. He has used white cement and mixed media.

Of the three relief sculptures in fibreglass put up by Nazia Islam, ‘Approaching the hands of a wall clock’ grasps the viewer’s attention the most. The sculpture reflects time’s fleeting nature and people running after it. Rafia Maniar put up only two sculptures, both figuring a straight-faced man. They are so aesthetically sculpted that they look deceptively simple. Through their positioning, however, they become the bearers of the artist’s observation of the world around her. The kneeling man with an impassive face depicts the slavish behaviour of our society in general.

The force of profound hard work by young sculptors does touch the heart of viewers and the curator, Shakeela Waheed, who has also taught the art to some of the young exhibitors, deserves commendation for a job well done.

Air guards absence make air travel unsafe

By Syed Hassan Ali

Most domestic and international flights of Pakistan International Airlines originating from the metropolis have no air guards on board to ensure in-flight security to passengers and air crew against hijacking and other terrorist activities.

Sources said that air guards used to travel on all of the flag carrier’s international and domestic flights until a couple of years ago. However, at present air guards are deployed only on certain international flights travelling to destinations considered ‘threatened stations’, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kabul, and Kathmandu, the sources added.

Foreign carriers usually have guards from their respective countries on board flights flying into and out of Karachi.

As far as domestic flights of the Pakistan International Airlines are concerned, air guards provide in-flight security to passengers and crew of the ATR planes only, which are smaller in size and mostly serve destinations on Pakistan’s coast. All other domestic flights travelling between major cities, including those of private Pakistani airlines, have no air guards on board, the sources said.

Airport Security Force sources said that no amount of ground security measures could guarantee one hundred per cent results against hijacking, particularly when Pakistan, like many other countries, had become a victim of terrorism. Though the standard of security of airports has been appreciated by foreign agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the American Federal Aviation Administration and the International Air Transport Association in the past, the deployment of highly-proficient sharpshooters – commonly known as air guards – trained by officers of the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group had been limited to certain flights, they said.

When contacted, ASF officials, though confirming that car parks, public areas, the terminal building, apron and perimeter were fully protected with the latest equipment and highly trained personnel, they preferred to keep mum over the question of in-flight security.

They said that five under-vehicle inspection systems built by ASF engineers had been put up at the entry gates of the Jinnah International Airport, while the sixth UVIS was being installed to keep out unwanted motorists.They further said that in addition to making good use of modern X-ray screening machines, metal and explosive detection systems, latest communications devices, riot control equipment and closed-circuit TV cameras, ASF security personnel frisked passengers and crew members before allowing them entry into an aircraft. The officials also said that before take-off, planes were thoroughly searched by the personnel of different agencies to ensure fool-proof security.

However, ASF spokesman Major Imtiaz Ali Khan avoided discussing the issue when he was approached to comment on why air guards were withdrawn from the national flag carrier. “I am not supposed to answer your queries,” he said.

Hijack threat

The sources said that the need for training of air guards and their deployment on all flights was felt after a PIA plane flying from Karachi to Peshawar on March 2, 1981, was hijacked by three armed men. The hijackers diverted the flight to Kabul where they released some hostages and gunned down a diplomat before taking the plane to the Syrian capital of Damascus.They initially demanded the release of 92 prisoners, coming down to 55, besides asylum for themselves and their friends. It was only after the Zia government agreed to their demands and Syria announced that it would take in the prisoners and the hijackers that the gunmen gave up.Sensing the heightened security requirements after this incident, the ASF, which was established in 1976 as a directorate of the civil aviation department, was placed under the ministry of defence in December 1983. Finally in 1984, the force was subjected to the Pakistan Army Act.

This was not the only hijacking case as on September 5, 1986, a Pan American flight carrying around 379 passengers was hijacked in Karachi. At least 21 people were killed during the deadly hijacking, for which a Jordanian national was convicted by a court in 2004.

However, since the deployment of air guards on flights no such case happened again. The effective deterrence that air guards provided, until they were pulled from flights, was manifested when air guards foiled a midair assassination bid by killing the assailants who targeted a Pakistan People’s Party MNA (Ilyas Ahmad Jatt) on board a PIA flight (PK-675) just as it took off from Islamabad bound for Faisalabad.For reasons best known to the authorities concerned, the service was suspended on Jan 1, 1998 and it was in May the same year that a Fokker plane that originated from Turbat was hijacked. Though the hijackers could not succeed in their plan to divert the flight to Jodhpur, India, and the pilot managed to land at Hyderabad airport, the importance of in-flight security was reemphasised by the incident.Perhaps it was for this reason that after the events of September 11, 2001, the government decided to revive the air guard service on all domestic and international flights. In July 2002, the first batch of air guards, comprising 52 well-trained personnel, including nine women, were taken on board as part of a plan to secure flights.

Commercial concerns?

However, ASF sources said that the service could not continue because the national airline had some financial reservations. The travel allowances that were offered to air guards and seats being spared for them were cited as the sole reason for the objections, they said, adding that since then the role of air guards had been limited to securing airports and just a few flights.

The PIA’s General Manager for Public Affairs, Syed Sultan Hasan, rejected the claims about the financial burden, saying that it was only the prerogative of the ministry of defence to decide whether or not the sharpshooter security guards of the ASF should be deployed on flights. However, he did confirm that air guards were travelling on four international flights – Mumbai, Delhi, Kathmandu and Kabul – and domestic flights destined to the coastal and northern areas. He was of the view that infallible ground security at airports would leave little possibility for any untoward incident in the air.

Young shooters exhibit precision at naval club

By Syed Hassan Ali

KARACHI, May 20: Attention! three, two, one, start!, cautioned a range officer as a shooter wearing ear plugs raised his pistol, took aim and fired five shots at five different targets exactly 25 metres away within four seconds each with a loud bang.

It was a weekday at the Pakistan Navy Sports Shooting Club, which is open to the general public, and the practice was in full swing. Young men and women exhibited precision, concentration and accuracy by hitting every shot on target, mostly on the bull’s eye. They were enthusiastic about their next month trials for the South Asian Shooting Championship to be held in Dhaka on July 3.

The sharpshooters participating in rapid pistol match seemed in high morale when they said four seconds were good enough to hit five targets.“It’s entirely a human attribute that they expand or squeeze their tasks according to the time they have,” explained Maqbool Hussain Tabassum, who has 50 national and international medals to his credit during his six-year career at the navy. He said the Navy’s range could be considered as the best out of all four shooting clubs in the country, situated at Lahore, Jehlum and Islamabad.

Photo by Fahim Siddiqi.

Built on a 15-acre piece of land in the Karsaz area, the shooting club’s membership is only granted to the holders of arms licence. It comprises five different firing ranges which are 300 metres, 50 metres, 25 metres, 10 metres and a trap and skeet. The ranges are equipped with electronic target system, running target system and auto-machines. Built under the able guidance of the international military sports council in 1995, complete safety is ensured at the ranges with walls and screens provided to prevent escape of bullets.

“There has never been a single accident at the club,” said Master Chief Petty Officer of Pakistan Navy Ghulam Murtaza, while attributing the club’s success to an emphasis on safety of its members. He said tanner rifle is used at the 300-metre firing, which is equipped with an electronic target system. “Under this system, a computer gauges the bullet-hit portion with the help of a microphone fitted at targets and calculates score according to the shot’s accuracy. The scores are then displayed on monitors placed near each shooter,” he explained.

Weapons and bullets

A naval official at the club told Dawn that members brought their own weapons and bullets, whereas targets, including clay birds for both trap and skeet shooting, proper ranges and scoring facilities were provided at the club.He said that weapons used at the 300-metre range were 7mm and tanner rifles equipped with telescope. Similarly, .22 rifles were generally used at the 50-metre range, .22 pistols and big bore pistols were used at the 25-metre range, and air guns and pistols are used to hit a target at a distance of 10 metres. For both trap and skeet shooting, 12 bore rifles were used.

When Lt Commander Mujahid Ovais, officer-in-commanding of the shooting range, was asked about the chances of any misuse of the facilities being provided in the heart of the city, he said there’s no such chance because sensitive agencies gave security clearance of an applicant before membership was granted to them. Besides, he said, the membership of an applicant was approved only when they had proper licensed weapon.Talking about the performance of navy shooters in national and international events, he said with the meagre resources at its disposal this club had produced players who had won international medals, including the one in Olympics.

However, he regretted that the Pakistan Sports Board, which had always supported cricket and hockey, had never encouraged this game.He was confident that the club could even perform better if the sports board provided a little assistance to it. He recalled that a coach from Ukraine trained the players for a few months some years ago and they won a gold medal in Olympics. There’s no doubt that with a little assistance the country could compete with any other in shooting, he added.