NAPA (National Academy of Performing Arts) has been doing a yeoman's service for the lovers of art and culture in the metropolitan city of Karachi for some time now. During the past one year it has successfully arranged to stage four plays and another is also on the anvil. Vakil Sahib, the latest production of NAPA, was very well received by an appreciative audience throughout the nights it was staged at the Karachi Arts Council. So far so good. But the question arises why has NAPA restricted itself to the city of Karachi only? Why doesn't it move out to other cities like Lahore and Islamabad where stage drama is followed with rapt attention by throngs of theatre enthusiasts? The people of these two cities don't just have good literary taste; their cities also have fine arrangements for stage performances of scope. Lahore in particular keeps abuzz with quality theatrical performances all round the year while Islamabad too deserves a decent play or two once in a while. NAPA is requested not to deprive Lahore and Islamabad from a sampling of performing arts that Karachi seems to be exclusively having because of NAPA being based there. -RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI, Islamabad, via e-mail, October 28.