Artists from across the country presented their work at the National Art Gallery (NAG) of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), to mark the Kashmir day and express their solidarity with the people of Kashmir. 25 established artists from all over the country, including Afshar Malik, Rahat Saeed, Humaira Ijaz, Quddus Mirza, Raja Changez Sultan, Asma Mehmood, Mubina Zuberi, Hajra Mansoor, Salima Hashmi, Musarrat Nahid Imam, Masood Hameed, Mansur Rahi, Anwer Saeed, Ali Raza, Shehbaz Malik, Dervesh, Arif Minhas, Aftab Zafar, Jehanzeb Malik, Sardar Muhammad, Ghulam Qasim, Abdul Rahim Abbas, Tahir Alam and Abbas Shah displayed contemporary art works in various mediums to highlight the miseries of the Kashmiri people.
Most of these paintings depicted the brutality of Indian forces towards the Kashmiri people. The artists in Gallery No.11 of National Art Gallery paid rich tributes to the Kashmiri martyrs. The tainted faces and bodies of the Kashmiri people, the Indian occupation and the picturesque valleys and fields were the artists’ prime focus. Pakistan National Council of the Arts DG Tauqir Nasir said the Kashmiri people had been fighting against a despotic power for the last 65 years and had sacrificed millions of lives for their freedom. “The Pakistani and Kashmiri people will continue to raise their voice against Indian atrocities and will keep pressurising the international community to play its role in giving the Kashmiri people the right of self determination,” he said.
Talking about the exhibition, Nasir said the Pakistan National Council of the Arts had arranged the exhibition as a part of its activities to mark the Kashmir Day on February 5. “Through these paintings and other scheduled programmes, the Pakistan National Council of the Arts wants to show the world that the Kashmiris are not alone, and we are standing firm beside them,” the Pakistan National Council of the Arts chief said.
