In Pakistan the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop announced it would have to cancel this year’s World Performing Arts Festival due to the government of Pakistan’s lack of concern and cooperation over security for the festival. Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop stated that lack of cooperation by the government of Pakistan and security agencies of Pakistan became the major cause of last year’s attack on the festival; Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop’s spokesman said “the government did not even think it necessary to compensate the organizers”. Addressing the conference, Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop’s Creative Director Faizan Pirzada said the situation prevailing in Pakistan was not conducive to holding an international festival.
He said the other reason for cancellation of the festival, which was to be held from Dec 19 -24, was that Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop was in the grip of financial constraints. Faizan regretted that festival’s cancellation would send a awful message to the international audience and art and culture lovers’ because for the last 20 years the event had been going steady and benefited Pakistan on the economic as well as cultural front. Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop was previously planned to take place during November in Lahore, Pakistan, but the organizers later announced that they could not hold it on such a massive scale without the government of Pakistan’s support. Around 168,000 artists from 83 countries have performed in the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop festival to date including 6,000 artists from India, in the presence of 485,760 people from around the world.
Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop is an exclusive and the only pioneering organization of its kind in Pakistan.
