Karachi: Internationally recognized Calligraphy artist, Ahmed Anwar has said that talented calligraphy artists are present in Pakistan but they have not been able to progress due to lack of training institutes and guidance in this regard. He said that Pakistan was an Islamic country and yet there had been no efforts on the government level to promote Islamic Calligraphy. There was no such institute established by the government and that private investors had also neglected this field.
Ahmed Anwar said that the works being done in the name of artistic calligraphy was quite different from the traditional calligraphy. Ahmed had just returned from the International calligraphic festival in Aljazeera. He has received international recognition through various competitions on calligraphy held internationally and he has displayed his works in various shows held in Jeddah, UAE, Iran, India, Japan, Malaysia and various other countries.
Ahmed Anwar said that the recent festival that he attended went on for a month and was attended by various renowned personalities. The festival was attended by more than 100 calligraphic artists who exhibited their talents and was organized by the social ministry of Al Jazeera. He said that this was a great effort at this time, considering that the art of calligraphy is fading away. He said computers have taken the place of traditional calligraphers. It was important to promote the tradition of calligraphy before it fades away.