Pakistani art collector-turned-gallerist aims to take local artists’ work to Middle East

Pakistani art collector-turned-gallerist Jawad Zia (center) is seen showing a calligraphy piece to the visitors at the Numaish Gah’s opening exhibition in Lahore, Pakistan, on April 9, 2023. (AN photo)
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Updated 18 April 2023
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Pakistani art collector-turned-gallerist aims to take local artists’ work to Middle East

  • Human resources expert Jawad Zia was born in Quetta but raised in UAE where he spent 25 years collecting art
  • Zia, who owns 300 works of Pakistani origin, has inaugurated art gallery in Lahore with exhibition based on Arabic script

LAHORE: You would find it difficult to imagine that Jawad Zia, a man who owns 300 works of art from Pakistan, who bought a signed cricket bat from the 1992 cricket World Cup final at an auction house and now runs an art gallery in Lahore, has spent almost the entirety of his life in the United Arab Emirates.

Such is Zia’s passion and his attention to detail when he talks about art that you assume he has always been in the business of producing it. Art seems second nature to him. So, you would find it even more difficult to imagine that up until he took early retirement a few years ago, Zia, 46, was working at MBC’s Dubai-based Al Arabiya news network, in the Human Resources department, rather than as a professional agent or curator in the global art world.

The only surprise is that the opening of Numaish Gah earlier this month in Lahore is Zia’s first formal foray into the art world, an attempt at “wider audiences, institutions, foundations and museums through collaboration.”

“I want to improve the outreach of younger artists in Pakistan, get them more exposure, both here and abroad,” Zia said about his sudden entry into a world he has only admired from a distance, for 25 years, as a collector.

“I want to bridge the gap between the old masters and contemporary art practices,” he added, using the term ‘old masters’ to refer to world-renowned Pakistani artists like Sadequain, Jamil Naqsh, Anna Molka, and Ustad Allah Bakhsh, among others in his collection.




Pakistani art collector-turned-gallerist Jawad Zia (center) speaks to Arab News at the Numaish Gah’s opening exhibition in Lahore, Pakistan, on April 9, 2023. (AN photo)

True to his word — and with courteous donations of two more collectors from the Middle East — Zia has works by Sadequain, often lauded as Pakistan’s greatest calligraphers, sitting across a calligraphic piece by a 28-year-old, recent graduate from Lahore’s, Punjab University, Samara Shahid. The old and the new truly do meet in Zia’s world.

Numaish Gah’s opening exhibition is curated by Sindhi artist, Irfan Gul Dahri, and features another ten artists, four from his home province of Balochistan, one young Pakistani artist residing in Germany and one from Hyderabad in Sindh. The collection is called ‘It Is Written’, an eclectic mixture of styles with one common denominator: the Arabic language. 




The photo taken on April 9, 2023, shows Sindhi artist, Irfan Gul Dahri standing next to his art at the Numaish Gah’s opening exhibition in Lahore, Pakistan. (AN Photo)

Samara Shahid’s work, titled ‘Pateela,’ has exquisite calligraphy in the Thuluth font, the same Arabic font used in the national flag of Saudi Arabia. If it wasn’t for Zia’s gallery, she would possibly have been one of the many burgeoning artists lost in transition.

In fact, a lot of contemporary artists in Pakistan, Zia said, did not know how to move from art education to engaging with the art world itself: “Around 8 out of 10 graduates struggle to make art for any sustained period of time, most give up, which is disheartening for art collectors like me.”




"Pateela", carved aluminum pot in Thuluth font by Samara Shahid, Numaish Gah, Lahore, April 9, 2023. (AN Photo)

Though born in Quetta, Zia chose Lahore as the city for his first gallery because he considers it the cultural hub of Pakistan, its heartbeat. He cited the examples of Shahzia Sikander, Rashid Rana and Salman Toor, contemporary artists who have found major international success but all hail from Lahore.

Speaking to Arab News, Zia said he wanted to bring together 10 foreign artists for the gallery’s next exhibition. As for this first one, it was so rooted in calligraphy and the Arabic script, he explained, partly because of the cultural and linguistic affinity Pakistanis have with the Arab world.

“I want young Pakistani artists to collaborate with other artists from the Middle East,” Zia said, hoping to see a reciprocal, mutually beneficial art and culture relationship develop between the two regions, both of whom the art collector considers home.




The photo taken on April 9, 2023, shows the curator of Gul Dahri (right) the curator of the Numaish Gah art gallery speaking with Saleema Hashmi (second left), a renowned Pakistani artist, and other local artists at the Numaish Gah’s opening exhibition in Lahore, Pakistan. (AN Photo)

His father was a military liaison officer from Pakistan — on deputation — in Abu Dhabi when the Emirates decided to leave the British Protectorate in 1971. He was only 6 years old when his family moved to the UAE. Now, what he truly wants is for Pakistani art to be more accessible, and bigger in scale, and to engage with the Middle East art world he knows best. And he certainly sees an appetite for it. 

“Pakistani artists have always performed well at Art Dubai and Art Abu Dhabi and other galleries in Alserkal Avenue,” Zia said. “Pakistani artists have [also] conducted workshops in Saudi Arabia recently with Misk [a youth program started by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman] and other foundations, which was all well received.”

Dahri, the curator of Zia’s first exhibition, himself has had multiple exhibitions in the UAE.

His idea for the inaugural show of the gallery, “Likha Howa Hay” (It Is Written) visualizes text as art. The Arabic script, via a Persian detour, is the basis for the Urdu alphabet, and many of the local styles of calligraphy, Dahri explained.

One of Dahri’s favorite pieces in the show, “a textual recreation of the big bang theory,” as he called it — ‘The Beginning’ by Shiblee Muneer — has a black canvas with an explosion of Arabic letters in gold scattering like stars across the cosmos: “The idea is that God uttered a phrase and suddenly the universe came into being.”




"The Beginning" by Shiblee Muneer, Numaish Gah, Lahore, on April 9, 2023. (AN photo)

Other memorable pieces include a garment that warriors used to wear under their armor, with Arabic inscriptions that were said to imbue spiritual protection from physical harm.

In Muslim cultures, Dahri said, the grandest ideas were often attached to scripture and text:

“The written word in the context of Islam is our way of conversing with the divine, text is sacred, and that sacredness is definitely coming from the Arab world. So, this exhibition is very strongly tied to the Arabic language ... This particular show is about text, its history and how text is related to human evolution.” 

“In our Urdu context and particularly in Pakistan’s context, a very significant role is played by the Arabic language,” Dahri said. “So, for Pakistan, Arabic is not a foreign language, it’s like the second or third language maybe in the country.”
 


Pakistan demands UN take meaningful measures for free plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir

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Pakistan demands UN take meaningful measures for free plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir

  • Pakistan marks Jan. 5 every year to commemorate day UN recognized right to self-determination for people of Kashmir in 1949
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif urges world to call for immediate cessation of human rights violations, release of political prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the international community and the United Nations on Sunday to ensure a free, fair and transparent plebiscite for the people of Indian-administered Kashmir, criticizing New Delhi for taking steps to “consolidate its occupation” of the disputed valley. 

Pakistan marks ‘Right to Self-Determination Day’ for the people of Indian-administered Kashmir every year on Jan. 5, which commemorates the United Nations Security Council’s resolution passed on Jan. 5, 1949. In it, the UN supported the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to decide their future through a free and fair plebiscite under UN supervision. 

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries govern parts of the territory but claim it in full, having fought two of their three wars over the disputed region.

“It is time for the international community, including the United Nations, to live up to their promises and take meaningful measures, enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination,” Sharif said in his statement. 

Sharif noted that every year the UN expresses unequivocal support for the realization of the right to self-determination for peoples under foreign occupation. 

“Regrettably, the Kashmiri people have not been able to exercise this inalienable right for over seven decades,” he said. 

“The international community must also call for immediate cessation of human rights violations, release of political prisoners, and restoration of fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people.”

In 2019, India repealed Article 370, which granted special autonomous status to the part of Kashmir controlled by New Delhi, and the era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan was over, India Today reported.

The move triggered a sharp reaction from Pakistan, which suspended trade with India and downgraded its ties with the country. 

“Through a series of illegal and unilateral actions taken since 5 August 2019, India is trying to alter the demographic and political structure of the disputed territory, aimed at transforming the majority Kashmiri people into a disempowered minority community, in their own homeland,” Sharif said. 

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s “strong resolve” to continue extending its moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir to pursue their right to self-determination.


Pakistan government warns of ‘hurdles’ to talks if Imran Khan’s party doesn’t submit demands

Updated 59 min 22 sec ago
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Pakistan government warns of ‘hurdles’ to talks if Imran Khan’s party doesn’t submit demands

  • Second round of talks between Khan’s party, government ended inconclusively this week after PTI did not submit demands in writing
  • Khan’s party has publicly stated two demands: release of political prisoners and setting up of judicial commissions to probe protests

ISLAMABAD: A leading government spokesperson this week warned that negotiations with former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party may face “serious hurdles” if the party fails to submit its demands in writing in the next meeting. 

The PTI and the government’s second round of talks on Jan. 2 ended inconclusively after Khan’s party demanded more time to meet and consult the jailed former premier before submitting their demands in writing to the government. 

The two sides kicked off negotiations last month to end the political deadlock in the country. Khan’s party has publicly stated two demands: the release of political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024, which the government says involved his party supporters, accusing them of attacking military installations and government buildings.

“In an interview with a private television channel, he [Senator Irfan Siddiqui] said that if PTI does not submit its demands in writing as promised, the negotiation process may face serious hurdles,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

“He said even after 12 days, no significant progress has been made.”

Siddiqui, who is the parliamentary leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ()PML-N) in the Senate and a member of the government’s negotiation committee, said the government had facilitated Khan’s party by arranging its meetings with the former prime minister in jail. 

However, he said the PTI remained “indecisive” about formalizing their demands despite written assurances made in joint declarations. 

“However, if the written demands are not presented in the third meeting, the negotiations could face significant setbacks,” Radio Pakistan quoted Siddiqui as saying. 

He said the date for the third meeting between the two sides would be decided by the PTI.

Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022 has plunged Pakistan into a political crisis, particularly since the PTI founder was jailed in August last year on corruption and other charges and remains behind bars. His party and supporters have regularly held protests calling for his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent.

The talks between the two sides opened days after Khan threatened a civil disobedience movement, and amid growing concerns he may face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9, 2023 protests.


Pakistan Business Council elects new board to strengthen trade, investment ties with UAE

Updated 05 January 2025
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Pakistan Business Council elects new board to strengthen trade, investment ties with UAE

  • PBC provides a platform to Pakistani companies and professionals in Dubai, helping them with networking
  • It also engages in initiatives to enhance Pakistan’s image, organize business forums and cultural activities

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) Dubai, a non-profit organization established in 2004 to strengthen trade and investment ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has elected its new board of directors for the 2025-2026 term, according to its statement on Saturday.

PBC serves as a platform for Pakistan-related companies and professionals operating in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, facilitating business networking, information exchange and maintaining strong connections to Pakistan.

Established under the patronage of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the council boasts a membership of over 200 Pakistani businessmen and companies from diverse sectors, including trade, manufacturing, professional services, finance, technology and health care.

Pakistan’s Consul General in Dubai, Hussain Muhammad, congratulated the newly elected board during a ceremony held at the Pakistan Association Dubai.

“The PBC serves as a dynamic platform for fostering trade, investment and collaboration between Pakistan and the UAE,” he said, according to a council statement. “I urge the new board to continue identifying and promoting sectors where both nations can collaborate for mutual benefit.”

PBC actively engages in initiatives to enhance Pakistan’s image. It also closely works with local government departments in Dubai and organizes events such as business forums, seminars, workshops and cultural celebrations related to Pakistan.

During the ceremony, the consul general praised the outgoing board for their contributions and highlighted the strong relationship between Pakistan and the UAE.

Members of both the outgoing and incoming boards also addressed the gathering, saying the council was playing a vital role in promoting business-to-business collaboration between the two countries.


Vehicle-borne bomb in Balochistan kills five paramilitary soldiers, injures over two dozen

Updated 04 January 2025
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Vehicle-borne bomb in Balochistan kills five paramilitary soldiers, injures over two dozen

  • The attack occurred when a convoy of Frontier Corps personnel was moving near Turbat city
  • A Baloch separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack that also injured 11 civilians

QUETTA: At least five paramilitary soldiers of the Frontier Corps (FC) were killed and over two dozen others injured in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted a bus carrying security personnel near Turbat city on Saturday.
The attack was initially confirmed by Rashid Zehri, the area’s district police officer, who said it occurred when a convoy of paramilitary soldiers escorted by FC vehicles was moving from an area about 10 kilometers from Turbat in Kech district.
Zehri said the bus carrying FC personnel caught fire after the attack, adding that the explosion also destroyed two civilian vehicles and two motorbikes without confirming the number of casualties in the attack.
“Civilians injured in the attack have been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Turbat, while the paramilitary force has taken its soldiers to the FC camp for medical treatment,” he told Arab News over the phone.
However, a senior provincial administration official, who requested anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media, said five paramilitary soldiers were killed in the attack, which also injured nearly 40 others, including civilians.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying “terrorists will not be allowed to succeed in their nefarious objectives.”
Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti also called the perpetrators of the attack “unworthy of being called humans.”
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an armed separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan, a mineral-rich province sharing borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has faced an insurgency for decades, which has intensified in recent years. The Baloch separatists accuse the Pakistani state of exploiting the region’s resources without adequately benefiting its population. However, Pakistani governments deny the allegations, saying they have launched several development projects to promote prosperity and improve the lives of residents in the province.
The BLA, with a strong presence in Balochistan, has emerged as a major threat to the state, carrying out deadly attacks, including suicide bombings, to target Pakistani security forces. According to provincial administration data, Balochistan witnessed a dramatic surge in militant violence in 2024, resulting in about 300 deaths in over 550 attacks.
Dr. Amjad Baloch, Medical Superintendent of the DHQ Hospital in Turbat, said his staff treated 11 civilians injured in the blast.
“All the injured were brought in stable condition and discharged after their initial medical treatment,” he told Arab News.


Pakistan PM calls SMEs ‘backbone’ of national economy, seeks steps for their global integration

Updated 04 January 2025
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Pakistan PM calls SMEs ‘backbone’ of national economy, seeks steps for their global integration

  • The government has initiated the process of hiring experts for the development of the SME sector
  • State Bank of Pakistan has also directed banks to simplify the loan application process for SMEs

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday described Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the backbone of national economy, issuing directives to take necessary measures to integrate them into the global supply chain, according to a statement from his office.
Pakistan has been striving to attract foreign investment as it recovers from a prolonged economic crisis characterized by a tough balance of payments situation, dwindling foreign currency reserves and a depreciating national currency.
While the government has signed various agreements with close allies and sought to promote business-to-business partnerships to drive growth, Sharif recently noted that foreign investment would remain elusive without first strengthening domestic investment.
“Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the economy,” he said while presiding over a meeting in Lahore to evaluate the SME sector, according to the statement. “Comprehensive steps are needed to make Pakistani industries a part of the global supply chain.”
The prime minister received a detailed briefing on the operations of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) and was told its board of directors had been constituted and had started holding regular meetings.
“The process of hiring international-standard experts for the development of the SME sector has been initiated,” the official statement said.
“The State Bank of Pakistan has also instructed banks to simplify and streamline the loan application forms for SMEs,” it added.
The meeting was also informed that authorities were in the process of gathering data on SMEs across Pakistan to enable informed decision-making for the sector.