LAHORE – A street theatre group ‘Goonj’ organized a street play “Maut ka Khel” at Jain Mandar Chowk, Lytton Road on Monday. A large number of people from diverse backgrounds came to watch the theatre. The theme line of the street play was creating awareness about increasing involvement of the Americans in the internal matters of the country and to show solidarity with the deceased shot down by Raymond Davis, the American national.
The street theater was arranged at the same place where Raymond Davis’s Land Cruiser ran over Ubaid ur Rehman. Public anger at Raymond Davis’s killing was also depicted in the play. The objective of the play was to reject American involvement in the region and use this incident as a rejection of American demands. The storyline of the play demanded a punishment for Davis.
The play attracted a large audience while people demanded from Government to consider public opinion on Raymond Davis issue. A rickshaw driver Abrar Toheed said, “It is really impressive that our youth have a sense of the on-going issues and they know how to stand with the dignity.” He further opposed government’s attitude about the issue, stating that instead of acting wise in negotiate their terms with US, the government gave themselves up to proofing Davis as a diplomat.
Labourer Haseeb Asif, who was deeply involved in the play, expressed his views, “Davis should not be sent back to America as he deliberately killed two citizens.” He said that the government should accept ground realties and penalize Davis according to Pakistani law. A local shopkeeper Arslan Siddiqi said that Pakistanis are furious over extraordinary involvement of the Americans in their internal matters.
He said that media plays a very important role in creating awareness amongst the masses; this sort of street plays play a wonderful role in creating awareness about different issues. He urged government to follow public demands and do justice with the families of the citizens shot dead by Raymond Davis.
Goonj coordinator said, “Electronic and print media have their own impact but this medium attracts only a limited audience. The purpose of arranging this street theatre was to create awareness and built up understanding of the layman.” He said that the Goonj group will present such dramas in future as well.
