Arts Council Election Marred by Politics and Accusations

A third panel has emerged in the Karachi Arts Council (KAC) for the first time in history that blames the ruling panel to be politically influenced and unscrupulous and to contest in the election on December 20.

Earlier, the polls for chairing the council were held between the Ahmed Shah Panel and Art Forum panels only.

However, a new panel, named Democratic Art Forum (DAF), has emerged to contest the election of KAC to be held on December 20.

Sheikh Khalid Mehboob and Dr Nadeem Asif are contesting in the election for president and vice-president respectively from the platform of the Democratic Art Forum.

The officials of the new panel believe that the polls must be held every year.

They expressed concerns about the membership of Ahmed Shah, the chairman of the panel that won the KAC election last time.

They said that the reason behind the establishment of a new panel was to bring new leadership to serve the art enthusiasts.

They blamed the current chairman of Karachi Arts Council Ahmed Shah of being political and said that financial irregularities during his over-a-decade tenure must be probed.

The council is run by an elected governing body that gets its funding from the Sindh government.

Read Also

Has Karachi Arts Council Election Become Political?

Meanwhile, Karachi Arts Council President Ahmed Shah has urged the members to participate in the election in full swing.

Earlier, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani and MQM’s Faisal Sabzwari had urged the members of the Karachi Arts Council to vote for Ahmed Shah’s panel in the polls.