KARACHI: An exhibition of portraits of the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah made by 20 renowned Pakistani painters and curated by Tanweer Farooqi to celebrate the Quaid’s 149th birthday opened on Wednesday at the Arts Council of Pakistan’s Ahmed Parvez Gallery as part of the council’s 18th International Urdu Conference.

A lovely variety of pictures of the great leader made in a decent range of styles adorn the walls of the gallery. If one can spot pointillism at play in one of the portraits, then there are others in which oil-on-canvas works, highlighting the kind of determined look on Mr Jinnah’s face which can only be found in strong personalities, impress with their simplicity.

Distinguished poet Iftikhar Arif, who has flown in from Islamabad to take part in the conference, inaugurated the show.

Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the efforts that the Arts Council and its President Ahmed Shah have been making to project a prominent image of Pakistan in the cultural landscape of the world.

“There is no institution in the world which has done such a remarkable job. There is political diplomacy, economic diplomacy… but the most durable form of it is cultural diplomacy. A point in that regard that can be made is that a person who doesn’t speak your language, will understand the language of love and peace,” he said, adding: “Poets and painters strive to do that. We must respect all identities — religious, linguistic and cultural. The Urdu Conference has become an event that people eagerly wait for every year.”

Mr Arif said the Quaid-i-Azam had clearly said that once Pakistan was made there would be no linguistic or religious difference in society. He also appreciated the artworks that have been put on display.

Ahmed Shah said the exhibition is a tribute to the Quaid-i-Azam. “Tomorrow, when the conference formally opens, is the birthday of Mr Jinnah.”

He also apprised the media of the Urdu Conference and the programme that it entails for this year.

The artists whose artworks are on display are: Rahat Naveed Masood, Ali Azmat, Ajab Khan, Nasir Shahzad, Kaleem Khan, Naseeb Khan, Farrukh Shahab, Ghulam Abbas Kamangar, Mehtab Ali, Rustam Khan, Muzzamil Khan, Irfan Hassan, Mohammad Darab, Tanweer Farooqi, Faiz Supro, Sumera Javed, Munawar Ali Syed, Shahzad Baloch, Sandeep Kumar and Khalid Khan.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025