A portrait of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was installed at Whitehall’s prestigious private members’ club, the National Liberal Club, in London on Thursday.

Mr Jinnah was a member of the club, and has been honoured with a portrait to commemorate his membership in 1913, along with Dadabhai Naoroji.

The portrait, painted by portrait artist Kaya Mar, was inaugurated by Pakistan High Comm­issioner to the UK Moazzam Ahmad Khan as part of Pakistan’s 75th independence anniversary celebrations in the presence of artists, writers, and club members.

The portraits of Mr Jinnah and Mr Naoroji become the first ones of South Asian leaders to grace the main hallway of the club, which prides itself on “British liberalism”.

Founded in 1882, the National Liberal Club describes itself as a bastion for liberal values, with an ethnically and socially diverse membership since its launch in the 1880s. It was the first of London’s major ‘gentlemen’s clubs’ to admit women.

Alongside British traditions like Burns Night, it also celebrates festivals from around the globe, like Diwali and Chinese New Year.

Mr Jinnah’s portrait was commissioned by Bilal Sheikh, principal of the Mont Rose College, to Mr Mar. “Kaya himself knows that Jinnah was a great statesman and a believer in an equal society,” Mr Sheikh said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2022