SIXTY-plus years down the line there remain some dumbos amidst us who say that Mohammad Ali Jinnah made a mistake, that he should never have founded Pakistan.

Can they not imagine what would have been the fate of the now 170-plus million Muslims of the subcontinent were there no Pakistan in which they could exercise their peculiar and unique skills?

Some say that having created this country he should have established it properly, given it a constitution, and picked up from wherever a better team of men to which to bequeath his nation. He was lax in this, but then the first year of Pakistan's existence, which was all the time he had, was hectic and chaotic.

He did the best he could. Addressing the members of his constituent assembly he laid out for them clearly and firmly what he expected of those who would take over from him. He told them that the first and foremost duty of any government was to impose and maintain law and order — this has been forgotten, thrown to the winds, by all who have followed him. He told them that religion was not the business of the state — they heard him. But within six months of his death, his words were discarded and his loyal lieutenant, Liaquat Ali Khan, fixed Pakistan by the passing of the Objectives Resolution. Until this is voided and discarded, the country will be doomed to intolerance, bigotry, hypocrisy and all that go with these three vices.

Now to the 'core issue,' Zahoor ul Akhlaq, artist and painter of Lahore. Ten years ago to the day, Zahoor and his daughter, Jahanara, were shot dead, in Zahoor's Lahore home, by a visiting acquaintance, Shahzad Butt, a roti merchant of the city. The killer could give no reason for having turned his gun on them. My column written on Zahoor on Jan 31, 1999 'Chariya' Zahoor, can be found on google.com.

Last week the administrator of the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture rang me. On Jan 19 Zahoor's friends and contemporaries are holding a remembrance meeting. I was asked to speak.

So I contacted the surviving members of Zahoor's family. His widow, Sheherezade, is a potter of international repute. For reasons still to be established, she has decided not to speak to me. Evidently, years ago, I had said something she did not like. Though not knowing what, I am quite ready to apologise.

Zahoor's daughter, Nurjahan, has done her Master's in Fine Arts at Goldsmiths in London and is now working as an underpaid curator in New York. She would like people to remember her father as a pioneering artist, who worked in a variety of media (painting, printmaking, graphic design, architecture, installation, sculpture, etc). She is bitterly disappointed that a country so rich in art and culture can so quickly forget one of its most significant artists and has asked me, in the speech I will make, to link this to the many political dysfunctions in the state.

She wishes me to remind my audience that most of the contemporary artists practising today in Pakistan can trace some kind of conceptual, critical, formal or thematic link to Zahoor's work or his influence. Salima Hashmi, says Nurjahan, has called him the 'father' of contemporary art in Pakistan. His work is cerebral, painterly and considered 'high art' by many, but his legacy is wide and “he cannot so gingerly be put in a box,” as he embraced folk, pop and vernacular art.

He devoted almost 40 of his 60 years to making, teaching and discussing art and gave generously to his students and peers at the National College of Arts. Many, including me, will endorse Nurjahan's words.

The next on my contact list was the son of Zahoor's brother in law, Asad Alam, Barrister Rafay Alam who writes a weekly column in our national press. He writes well and argues well, and he has been appointed an honorary captain in my honorary army. His columns focus on environmental law and regulations, property related matters and civil litigation. As he understands official Pakistani thinking he should go far.

He has suggested some facts to bear in mind. The murders took place on Jan 18, 1999. The murderer, Shahbaz Butt, who had gone into hiding was found by the police and was arrested within a fortnight. On May 9, 2001, the Anti-Terrorist Court No. 1 at Lahore convicted Butt under Sections 302 and 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code for the murder of Zahoor and Jahanara and the attempted murder of Anwar Saeed and Al-Noor (who were also visiting Zahoor at the time). The court handed down the death penalty and under Section 544-A ordered the payment of compensation of Rs2,000,000 and further sentenced him to undergo 10 years rigorous imprisonment for injuring Anwar Saeed and Al-Noor.

Butt appealed to the high court, where his case was heard by a Bench comprising Justices Khawaja Muhammad Sharif and Naeem Ullah Khan Shirwani. Passing judgment in appeal on May 6, 2002, Justice Sharif observed

“After having heard the learned counsel for the parties, gone through the evidence recorded by the learned trial court and submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, we have no hesitation in our mind to state that it was the appellant who had committed the murder of two innocent persons and had also caused injuries on the persons of two injured witnesses namely Alnoor and Anwar Saeed. Keeping in view the above circumstances, this appeal fails and is dismissed. Conviction and sentence is maintained and Murder Reference is replied in the affirmative.”

Butt has appealed to the Supreme Court. Early last year, Latif Khosa, counsel for Butt in the Supreme Court, requested the court to issue notice to Asad Alam who had lodged the FIR before he argued the appeal. Notice has been received but the case has since not come up.

Latif Khosa has since been appointed attorney general of Pakistan. One hopes that he will use his office to have an early hearing.

Ten years ago I wrote of the senselessness of violence. In 10 years violence in our country has increased by leaps and bounds. Since the death of Jinnah, a man of law and letters, no government of Pakistan has been able to impose law and order as none can tolerate or afford an independent judiciary.

Tomorrow, at 1600 hours at the Indus Valley School, we will remember Zahoor with joy. We will raise our glasses of 'permissible liquid' and hope that his soul rests in peace.

arfc@cyber.net.pk