NPC, DEMP Organise Painting Exhibition to Mark Kashmir Black Day
Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan inaugurates a student painting exhibition marking Kashmir Black Day at Aiwan-e-Quaid
We Have Tried to Highlight the Pain of Kashmiris Through Paintings, Say Hameed Qaiser and Muhammad Saleem
Islamabad – 28 October 2026 (MT Team) : The paintings displayed at the exhibition offer a true and poignant portrayal of the atrocities being committed against the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Through their sketches and use of colours, young students from educational institutions have given powerful expression to the suffering of the oppressed Kashmiris.
The joint initiative of the Nazriya Pakistan Council Trust (NPCT) and the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications (DEMP), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is highly commendable. I extend my special appreciation to the teams of both organisations for this valuable effort.
These remarks were made by former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan while inaugurating an exhibition of paintings created by students to mark Kashmir Black Day, observed on October 27.
Sardar Masood Khan said that the Kashmir cause was intrinsically linked to the ideological foundation of Pakistan. He observed that the paintings displayed in the permanent Kashmir Gallery at the Nazriya Pakistan Council, accompanied by verses from distinguished poets, captured the essence of the pain and suffering of the Kashmiri people.
He said the deeply moving images had left him profoundly saddened. Since the 1940s, the people of Jammu and Kashmir had endured decades of struggle, making immense sacrifices and laying down hundreds of thousands of lives in their quest for their rights and freedom.
Referring to the permanent Kashmir Gallery established by the Council, he particularly appreciated the verses of renowned poets inscribed alongside the photographs, describing them as deeply evocative and powerful. He proposed that these verses should also be compiled and published in book form so that the message and suffering of the Kashmiri people could reach audiences around the world.
Addressing the gathering, Director General of the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications (DEMP), Muhammad Saleem, expressed his gratitude to the Nazriya Pakistan Council Trust for providing the venue free of charge every year, enabling the Directorate to organise the exhibition on Kashmir Black Day.
He said that leaders of the Kashmiri struggle, including the distinguished chief guest, had made sacrifices for the freedom of Kashmir, forming a proud and enduring chapter in history. Paying tribute to Sardar Masood Khan, he also acknowledged his outstanding services as Pakistan’s ambassador before he assumed the presidency of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
In his introductory remarks, host Hameed Qaiser, Director Media and Programmes, Nazriya Pakistan Council Trust, said that the Council had consistently endeavoured to organise meaningful events to commemorate important national days.
He said that, through the paintings created by students, the Council had sought to bring the suffering of their Kashmiri brothers and sisters to the attention of the world and raise awareness of their plight. He described it as an honour for the Council that a distinguished Kashmiri leader such as Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan had inaugurated the exhibition.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, participants visited the exhibition and expressed solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Those present included former ambassador and senior member of the Council’s Executive Committee Ambassador Salahuddin Choudhry; Director Administration and Finance Sultan Hamid Malik; Irshad Khokhar; Muhammad Zubair Qureshi; DEMP Director Muhammad Hussain Wazir, along with a large number of his colleagues; and noted intellectual Syed Zaheer Gilani, who visited the exhibition with his family and guests from Karachi.
The exhibition is on display in the mural lobby of Aiwan-e-Quaid, Fatima Jinnah Park, Islamabad, and will remain open to visitors until Sunday.
