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The consul-general who knows Karachi inside out
By Aisha Masood
Karachi
Pakistan should not be portrayed as either just ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in entirety. The world outside must take the ‘check and balance’ approach, opines the Consul General of France, Pierre Seillan according to whom 90pc of the country is entirely safe. “The word ‘Pakistan’ has now been associated only with terrorism, however, once you go into detail, you would find so much more than the Talibans in Pakistan,” he said during an exclusive dialogue with The News.
Seillan is one of those few diplomats who are familiar with almost every corner of the city. “Karachi has different facets,” he said while admiring the old streets, the heritage buildings and houses in the former city centre. Not only does he admire the architecture in Karachi but he was also delighted when he saw the beautiful shrines in Hyderabad. “Some worship places there are so attractive that one would naturally want to worship over there,” he remarked. He feels that something immediately needs to be done for the tombs of Makli that are being weathered with the passage of time.
Talking with artists is what Seillan finds most pleasant and that is why every other day he visits an art gallery or meets a local artist. “An artist has a deep anxiety related to creativity,” said the CG to whom, becoming an artist is a challenging process. “artists, he said, “never achieve their target of beauty and life, hence they keep experimenting with techniques to improve their craft.”
Creating art, according to Seillan, “is like research into one’s own self and desire to share with others one’s very own vision of the world.
His love for art and theatre has attracted him to different art galleries in the city besides he visits the Arts Council quite sometimes. He calls the experience of watching the Pakistani movie ‘Khuda Ke Liay’ in one of the cinemas here quite interesting.”
It is now time for Pakistani artists to confront the rest of the world. “The artists here have brilliant work but need and deserve more international exposure and networking.”
Francoise Seillan, the wife of the Consul General in her recent visit to Pakistan, accompanied her husband to see the Mango Festival in Mirpurkhas, a city that she says is very vibrant. She also had a chance of visiting some schools run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) near Landhi and Korangi, where she was surprised to see the large number of children. She believed that those NGOs are doing remarkable work.
Education is the backbone of a society, added the CG “irrespective of which class one belongs to, everyone must have the same standard of education.” He observed that the public sector needs to be rejuvenated to improve the standard of education.
Replying to another question, he stated that the Government of France supports the Pakistan Government. “It does not matter ‘who’ is running the show; if he is going in the right direction, we must support him. Your government is trying its best to resolve the law and order issue in its own way.”
The Consul General is a former navy officer who has been to more than 50 countries, enjoys eating all kinds of Pakistani food. Although he has noticed that the consumption of meat is very high here, he likes Tandoori chicken, Daal while he also had the famous Burns Road Nihari.
The News: Friday, June 26, 2009
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