The revolution that never happened
ARIEB AZHAR — UPDATED SEP 29, 2013 07:27PM
Backdoor of the Communist Party office in Lahore. -Photo by Malik Usman
the weight of hard earth; an animal growing stronger in a hostile environment; the will
of life to survive in the face of impending death. Perhaps, this can explain the romance
and optimism that many of us felt during the repressive regime of General Ziaul Haq
in the 1980s of Pakistan.
We had shifted from Rawalpindi to Karachi when I was five years old. My
father, Aslam Azhar, had already established PTV in Pakistan, and had been transferred to the State Film Authority by Z A. Bhutto, who found his ideas
too independent. When Ziaul Haq came to power he sacked all progressive
minded professionals from government institutions, including my father.
I vividly remember the solemn atmosphere in our house when Bhutto was
hanged in Central Jail Rawalpindi a few years later.
It was in Karachi that my father was introduced to Mansoor Saeed, who
convinced him to actively join the growing Left movement in Pakistan, and
our families became joined as one. Mansoor and my father founded theDastak theatre group in Karachi, which was the only group in Pakistan,
besides Ajoka in Lahore, which sought to raise political awareness through
theatre, in the face of a brutal regime. This is where Mansoor’s talented
daughter Sania Saeed gained her initial experience in acting and went on to become one of the most highly acclaimed actresses of Pakistani television
today.
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